


Eros Bar Season 1

by Sareele



Series: Eros Bar AU [1]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-11-02 02:19:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10934952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sareele/pseuds/Sareele
Summary: Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU.  It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars.  Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.





	1. Eros Ch.1

_Eros._

_If you’ve never wandered to the outskirts of the downtown nightlife you’d think the name represented an establishment of finesse; a fancy restaurant, a classy gentleman’s club, a ritzy cocktail lounge._

_But throw open the doors to the aging building during the late midday and you’d find yourself staring at a lavish open bar.  You’d get a warm greeting from a handsome bartender and there’d be an air of familiarity amongst all the patrons._

_You’d never know that you’d love it until you stepped into it and everyone welcomed you back, happily shouting your name._

_Names._

_That’s right..._

**_There’s always a good story behind a name._ **

 

* * *

 

 

**PART 1**

 

 A hum of a cheerful tune echoed throughout the empty space.  It was 3:15 p.m. and Zen busied himself wiping down the bartop. Sure they did work to clean up every night before locking the doors but for some reason the silver-haired man would always pass over the surfaces as soon as he walked in the next day.  He double-checked the beer mugs to make sure the handles were turned at just the right angle where his hands could grab them quickly. Napkins? Check. Pretzels? Check. Receipt with the number from a gorgeous woman that had spent the entire night prior staring at him?  He smiled at the legible digits and stuffed the piece into his back pocket. Check.

There was nothing more important to him in his current life than this bar but a date with a pretty lady on the weekend wasn’t far down on his list.  He made a mental note to add her to the small bucket that kept the rest of the numbers he received every night in his office.  It would be a shame if he were to not give this one a fair chance like the others.  

His thoughts were interrupted by the chime of the bell above the door as another man stepped into the establishment.  Was it already half-past three?  Zen looked towards the wall clock and let out a dramatic gasp of surprise, “Red, you’re early in being late! What’s the occasion?”  He pulled at two shot glasses to fill them up with whiskey, “Keep this up and you may get a promotion!”

The other male laughed a bit as he took off his jacket to sling along the coat rack near the entrance, “Seeing as I changed my schedule to come in at 3:30 p.m. instead of 3:00 p.m. I would like to point out that I am delightfully early for my shift.”

Red.  His real name was Saeyoung Choi.  He had bright shaggy red hair and eyes, protected by a pair of glasses, so golden they shone brightly like the sun rising in the morning but those same cheerful orbs held a bit of mischief that did well for him on the job.  His usual attire? A yellow and red checkered button down and light wash jeans.

Zen slid one of the glasses down the bartop to meet Red’s hand as he passed by.  It was tradition for them to share a shot before they officially opened the doors to the public so once they toasted each other they downed the liquor in seconds.  “Where’s your brother?  Don’t tell me he had to call off,” the man behind the counter furrowed a brow as he retrieved both glasses to wash them.  “It may be the middle of the week but I still don’t like it if we both have to act as waiters as well.”

“Cool your pecs, boss. He’s just parking the car. I guess the eatery across the street is having some sort of shindig and the streets are loaded with vehicles.  He’ll be here in a few seconds.” Red reached over the bar to grab at an apron to start tying it around his waist.  They didn’t have a uniform of any kind but Zen was oddly particular about everyone having an apron.  The man made his rounds of the space to turn on lights and make sure tables were set the way Zen liked it.  “Hey, you remember about that person Duckie has coming in for an interview, yeah?  What was her name?” His voice carried behind him as he had made his way to the back area where the pool tables and jukebox found their home.

Zen took a slight breath in as he had almost forgot about the interview.  Could he be blamed?  He was told about it the night before while he was chatting up with a busty blond at the bar, “Of course I remember! Her application is in my office. She was applying for...errr…”

“Waitstaff, boss.  She’s applying to be a waitress.”

“Right! See? I remember! And you know how I feel about names around here, Red.”  He shouted out towards the back hall.

“Yeah, you forget them easily so they have to leave it written down on a napkin, preferably with their number attached.” A cheeky grin was spread across Red’s face as he came back towards the bar, “Just make sure you act professional.  Hopefully she’s not a looker so you won’t turn that charm on.”

Zen turned to protest but was distracted as the bell chimed once more, a man that looked identical to Red walking through the door, “This is utter bullshit.  I had to park a block away in some weird parking lot.  When are you going to buy that lot next door so we can have proper parking for this place, Zen?  I hate having to always find a different place to leave the car.”

Zen chuckled slightly as he began to count the change in the register, “Not any time soon, Cannon, since I have to hire someone to help you.  What would you prefer? Parking or a night off?”

Cannon.  Saeyoung’s twin brother Saeran.  He had the same bright hair but wore mint-colored contacts instead to make sure he wasn’t confused for the other sibling.  His attitude was much less friendly as well, but was a hard worker. The normal attire for the guy consisted of a red V-neck t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans.

“Whatever.” Cannon mumbled as he too grabbed an apron to strap to himself, “Whoever is coming in, just hire her.  She can’t be dumb enough to not be able to take orders.  And if she is, it’s not my problem.  I’m still taking a few nights off.”  He stuffed a notepad along with a few pens into a pocket as he began to prep a few bowls for snacks, “Let her know to just stay out of my way since I don’t want to deal with her.”

Red walked around and pat his brother on the back, “Now now, you have to play nice! You’ll be training her, after all.”

“Like hell I will!”

“Boys boys, let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.  I still want to interview her and if she’s not going to be a good employee then I’ll have to keep looking.” Zen closed the cash register, satisfied with the count, and looked towards the two, “I’m a pretty good judge of character so I’ll know within the first minute of meeting her if she will fit in with everyone around here!”

“You mean, within the first minute of meeting her you’ll know if you’ll fit into her?” Cannon growled out which sent Red into a fit of giggles.  The twins never missed out on an opportunity to give Zen grief which the man didn’t quite know if he enjoyed or loathed. “Can I catch a break around here?” Their boss sighed as he made his way from behind the bar to walk to his office, “Just try to respect me around the potential new waitress, would yah?”

Both brothers waved him off and continued to perform their daily chores.  The time passed pretty quickly as they bustled around and in no time Red had moved to switch the sign on the window from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’.  They rarely had people come in as soon as the wall clock twittered at 4:00 p.m. but today the red-headed bartender hadn’t even made it back to the bar before the door was swung open.  He turned on his heels as he heard the bell and when he saw the face unfamiliar he gave a wide smile, “Welcome to Eros! What can we drown you with?”

The woman at the entrance gulped a bit at the abrupt welcome but gave Red a nervous smile, “Oh, hello.  I’m not here to drink-”

“Then what are you here for?  If you didn’t notice, lady, you’re in a bar.” Cannon leaned against the bartop and stared at her, “The pizza joint is across the street and we don’t hold any book club meetings here.”  His brother closed his eyes for a moment even though his smile stayed steady, “Could you grab the celery from the cold storage, bro?”

The male rolled his eyes and pushed himself off to make his way towards the back as Red once again locked eyes with the girl, “I’m sorry about that, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.  You were saying?”

She nodded as her attention was drawn back to the seemingly polite person who addressed her initially, “Yes...uhm...I have an interview in thirty minutes with...Zen?” She pulled a piece of paper out that had a name written along with a time and an address, “Sorry if I’m early.  You know what they say: Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!”

A smirk crossed his face as he took a good look at her, “Aye. I guess we are all an unacceptable lot around here, then!” He beckoned her in, “I’ll let Zen know you are here.  Please, have a seat!  Let me get you a drink, on the house. You deserve it for being ‘on time’.”  

“Just water would be fine, if it’s no trouble.”  She took a seat on one of the stools.  Placing her bag on the surface in front of her she started to look around the establishment. From the outside of the building she was afraid that the inside would look just as run down.  It was a pleasant surprise how well kept it had been when she entered. “Good to know you’d be a cheap date.” He placed a glass of water in front of her as he smiled.

“Excuse me?” Her fingers clutched at her bag a bit defensively at his comment, “What do you mean by that?” Red frowned slightly as he busied his hands with wiping a few glasses in front of him, “Water is free, you know.  I was just making a joke...sorry if that offended yah.” Her cheeks blushed slightly, laughing nervously while mentally kicking herself for letting the comment fly over her head that way.  “Right.  No need for apologies, I’m just a bit nervous about the interview.”

He snapped his fingers and he walked away towards the other side of the bar, “Oh yeah! Which reminds me.”  Climbing up on the edge he shouted towards the door in the back, “Hey boss! Your interview is here!”  Red shot a thumbs up at the girl, the door to the office swinging open as Zen finally emerged with papers in his hand.  

Her eyes widened a bit as she finally laid eyes on the tall man. He was just as attractive as everyone said he was; sharp facial features, eyes kind even though they were a bright red, his physique obviously well kept...but what her gaze fell on were his clavicles.  His light-blue dress shirt had a few buttons opened exposing the top of his chest. Zen claimed he had to do it since it got so hot as he ran around but everyone knew he did it for the attention he received. A sly grin crossed his face as he noticed the girl’s slight gawk in his direction.  

The shirt works everytime.

“Hey! Welcome to Eros!  Thanks for taking some time to meet with me! I’m Zen, the owner of this place,”  He walked into the bar area and leaned on the counter in front of her as he held his hand out for a shake, eyes sparkling, “Nice to meet you!”

She cleared her throat as he approached, giving him a big smile before meeting his hand to shake firmly, “No, thank you for giving me this chance mister...Zen?”  He shook his head in major disapproval at the title she had placed on him, “Please, just Zen.  I’m not the type to deal with those types of formalities.  Nice handshake, by the way.” His eyes never left hers but he had noticed she didn’t drop his hand throughout the entire exchange. Pulling her arm back she laughed a bit nervously, “Oh, thank you.  I’ve always been told to have a confident handshake when meeting others.”  

Zen mused to himself as he finally broke the eye-contact to look down to her resume, “That’s good advice.  So tell me a bit about yourself.  More importantly, why should I hire you?”

The woman let in a deep breath.  She had been mentally preparing herself for a few days now and had plenty to say but sitting in front of this man who she found so beautiful caused her mind to go blank.  “Well.  I’m currently a student at SKY University.  I’m working on my Masters in Sociology,” Her words came out in such a flustered jumble that Zen looked up from the paper to concentrate on what she was saying.  Even so she continued on, voice gaining confidence and becoming more bubbly as she ran through her speech, “I want to work as a social worker! I love being around people and I’m very empathetic. I have some work experience, as you can see,” She leaned forward and pointed towards the middle of her resume, “I helped at my uncle’s bookstore while I was in my first years of University.  He always said I had a natural talent for customer service! I can get along with almost anyone and I’m really good at calming down customers that are upset!”

Zen had placed his elbows on the bartop, his right arm bending upwards to prop his chin as his body leaning to the side.  A soft smile was settled on his lips as she rattled on about herself in such an animated manner. _This woman,_ he thought, _is so charming._ He found himself lost in her words and eventually stopped paying attention to what she was actually saying.  He was brought back from his daze when she suddenly placed both hands down on the counter to give him a look of determination, “You should hire me because I will be the hardest working employee you’ll meet.  I will do whatever it takes to learn the skills I need and I will learn them quickly.  I will not disappoint, that I promise you.” She was breathing a bit heavier since she had fallen into a passionate speech towards the end.  

_She’s bright, like a little ray of sunshine._

“Sunny.” he cooed out.

The girl sat back in her chair with a look of confusion on her face, “W-what?”

“Sunny!” He exclaimed louder so that the twins could hear him.  Red gave a few claps and ran over to the girl, “Hey! Congrats!  You can call me Red! I’m the other bartender other than the big boss here.”  She looked between the two still trying to figure out what they were going on about, “I don’t...understand…”

“Zen gave you a name, means you’re hired,” Cannon came around the side and got close to her ear,  “So don’t fuck this up. I want a weekend off.”  

Red shooed his brother off and pat Sunny on the back, “That’s Cannon.  He’s the other waiter here so you’ll be working with him a lot.  He’ll warm up to you eventually!”  She nodded slowly and looked to Zen, “So...I have the job?”

He laughed a bit and crumpled up her resume, “Yeah! I like you and I think having you around will be great for the place! Welcome to the family, Sunny!”  She put on a big smile and held her hand out once more, “You won’t regret hiring me! But, my name is-”

“Sunny. Your name is Sunny. First rule I have in this place is you go by the name I give you. Call it a quirk of mine.” Zen looked up as he heard the jingle of the bell above the door, welcoming the customers in with a bright smile.  She looked behind her and watched as the two people made themselves comfortable at one of the tables, Cannon lazily making his way over to tend to them.  “But why would you use a name that isn’t real?”

He directed his attention back to her, chuckling a bit, “It is a real name! It’s the name that I, Owner Zen, have given you! You should be honored!” She opened her mouth to protest some more but was interrupted by Cannon barking out an order, “Two scotch rocks, boss.”  Zen nodded and pulled two glasses from below the bar with one hand, grabbing a bottle of liquor with the other, “So when can you start, babe?”

She pursed her lips at the question, moreso at the term of endearment, “Whenever you’d like to train me, of course.  I’ve never worked in a bar and don’t know a lot about alcohol so I’m sure you’d like to spend some time going over basics.”

“Are you free tonight? The weekdays are normally not too busy so I can spend some one-on-one time with you.  Sound good?” He flashed a smile at her, “You said you pick things up quickly and I’d like you to be good for the weekend.”

Sunny nodded and stood up to straighten out her shirt, “I’d love to start!  And what do I call you, since everyone has nicknames?” Zen placed the two drinks on a tray, beckoning to Cannon, “You can call me Zen, or these guys call me boss. I don’t mind you calling me sweetie or babe either, your choice.” He shot her a wink as he threw a hand towel over his shoulder.  She smirked at the act, leaning over the counter to get closer to him, “What’s your real name?”

“That I will not tell you.  The only person in this bar that knows everyone’s real names is me.  Red knows a few, since he handles the tabs alongside me. Don’t bother asking, it’s considered impolite around here.” He pointed a finger at the twin as he approached to pick up the drink order, “Even Cannon doesn’t know my real name!”

“I don’t care if I know your real name as long as I get my paycheck,” the waiter spit out his words with apathy, “Throw a bowl of pretzels on here, boss.  Stop flirting with the new girl.”  

Zen did as he was asked but kept his eyes on Sunny, reaching behind himself to grab an apron and throw it at her, “Let’s get started, then! I’ll give you the grand tour.”  
  


* * *

  
**PART 2**

 

Sunny took in everything Zen had been saying as they walked around the place, repeating to herself anything that she may have felt would be useful; the cold storage, the dry storage, the employee bathroom. After making a complete circle of the bar he led her to his office, “And this is where the magic happens!”

Her cheerful disposition fell as her eyes looked around the room.  It wasn’t dirty but the only thing she could think was,  _how does he work in this mess?_  Piles of papers were everywhere.  Boxes with what she assumed where liquor bottles that had not yet made it to the dry storage.  Extra bar stools stashed in the corner.  The only thing that seemed completely cleared off was the small couch next to the door.  

Although her eyes were assaulted with the fire-hazard that was the office she also noticed the distinct smell.  There was a strong scent of cologne - a dark woody tone with what seemed to her as orange blossoms. But there was something else in the air she couldn’t quite distinguish. Upon further inspection of the room she noticed an ashtray on the edge of the desk that had a few cigarette butts smashed into it. That was it. The lingering smell of smoke had mixed with the other aromas and as much as she wasn’t pleased with tobacco this mixture didn’t completely turn her off.  Somehow it made the space seem comfortable and inviting.

“Have a seat, I’ll get the papers you need to sign…”  He let the door close behind them and with a grace she had never seen he jumped over a few boxes to a filing cabinet where he began to dig through documents. She winced at the way he was haphazardly crushing through folders. “I...uhm…” She stuttered slightly but Zen was too engrossed in searching through what seemed to others as a dumping ground but to him was his own organizational masterpiece. “A-ha!” His exclamation sent him twirling around with a folder in hand, a grin on his face like he had just found a lost treasure, “It’s just a few legal documents, nothing fancy.  You can read over them if you’d like, then just sign on the lines along with today’s date.”

After handing her the papers he squirmed his way around piles and sat at his desk, leaning back to prop his long legs on the mess that completely covered the piece of furniture.  He stared at her while she studied the documents.    _She’s actually reading it.  That’s...so damn cute._  Her lips moved slightly as she went over the words which caused a smile to creep up onto his face. Every movement from her he noticed.  She had great posture and had crossed her left leg over her right in a classy manner.  If her hair managed to fall from its place behind her ear a hand would immediately put it back in its place as if she were reprimanding it.  

She finally signed off on all of the pages and stood up to walk towards where Zen had sprawled out, “Here you go, everything seems fine-” her foot slid to the side along with a piece of cardboard that she accidentally stepped on tumbling her body forward. With quick reflexes he had thrown his legs off the top of the table, papers flying everywhere, and launched forward to catch her in his arms before her face slammed into the desk.  

“Sunny, are you alright?!” Zen clutched her tightly until he was sure she was completely balanced.  Her face was now shoved into his chest, her nose taking in the scent of that cologne that had blended so delicately into his skin. Her cheek felt the rapid beating of his heart, which caused a skip in hers. “I’m fine, thanks,” she mumbled a bit as she straightened up though nothing could hide her blushing.  He let out a sigh of relief and set the folder to the side after he dropped his grip on her, “Good!  Can’t have you getting hurt on your first day! Let’s get out to the bar and we can get you situated with your actual job.”

When they stepped out of the office the place had been filled a bit more than earlier in the day, but one particular person sitting at the bar caught Zen’s eye, “Clicks! You snuck in while I was in the back!  How’s it going, buddy?” He pat the taller man on the back before leading Sunny behind the bar.

Clicks, or otherwise known as Jihyun Kim. He actually already had a nickname, V, in his artistic profession but Zen insisted on giving him yet another name that was specific to the bar.  With a head of turquoise hair, he always came in wearing some sort of cardigan with a simple t-shirt underneath and slim black pants.  

“Things are fine as usual, Zen.  And this lovely young woman? Did you finally find someone to fill the waitstaff position?” He had taken a moment to look up from a magazine he had brought with him and smiled towards the strange face behind the bar.  Zen nodded excitedly and pulled Sunny closer to him, “Yeah!  This is Sunny, our new waitress. Sunny, this is Clicks! He’s a dear friend of mine and I’m sure you’ll see him often.  It’s weird, though, that you aren’t here with…”

Jingle~!

“Hello everyone.” A deep toned male voice rumbled from the entrance.

“Sugar!” The chorus of voices from the patrons and the employees rang in the air as they called his name.

The man walked towards the bar to take his usual spot next to Clicks.  Zen smirked at the individual, “Of course, there he is.  Sunny, this is Sugar.  Sugar~, this is Sunny my new waitress.”

Sugar, short for Sugar Daddy, known outside of the bar as Jumin Han. A tall raven-haired businessman with sharp grey eyes.  He always came in dressed in a three-piece suit and always kept his jacket on unlike most that chose to leave that article of clothing at the door.

She smiled and bowed her head slightly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you two. I hope you’ll be patient with me as I get used to job.” Clicks took his hand from the glass of whiskey it was toying with and held it out for a shake, “The pleasure is ours, surely! Congratulations on the new job. I hope you find your place here.”

Sugar also held his hand out to take hers once she had given Clicks a hearty shake, leaning forward to kiss the back of it, “If any of these hooligans disrespect you do let me know immediately. I will rectify the situation.” Sunny blushed a bit at his action, pulling her hand back to her side once he let go of it, “Thank you...uh...Sugar…” She stammered.  

Zen rolled his eyes and placed a glass of wine in front of the suited man, “And who do we contact if you get too grabby with her?” Sugar took the glass with a deathly glare, “I would never even let the thought cross my mind to handle a woman in such a manner.”

“Hey guys, how about we all pretend to love each other in front the new hire? I wouldn’t want to scare her off on the first night.” Red had stepped between them to grab a bottle of wine but was glad to make the intervention as he knew how the conversation would most likely end.

“I hate all of you, that will never change.” Cannon hissed as he had walked by to drop off a few empty glasses.

Jingle~!

“Ugh. Guys!” a young man whined as he struggled to take his jacket off.

“Duckie!”

He heaved himself over to the bar, flopping onto a stool, “Zen, a beer please.”

Duckie, or Yoosung Kim. He was a blonde-haired male with bright purple eyes.  His normal attire consisted of a half wrinkled t-shirt and jeans and always came in with his backpack.

Zen took the opportunity to step away from Sugar and hit the tap to fill a mug, “What’s going on today, Duckie? Another failed exam?” He pulled a napkin from beneath the countertop and placed the beer in front of the distressed man.  Duckie grabbed it and drank half in one go, “My professor pulled a pop quiz on us!  How am I supposed to pass something like that if I can’t study for it!”

The white-haired male pulled a bowl of pretzels from behind him and set it on the bar, “Easy there, killer, you know how sick you get if you drink too fast, or too much...or drink at all…” The blonde readied himself to shoot off some witty remark but his eyes fell on the girl.  With a big smile he pointed excitedly, “Hey! It’s you! How’d the interview go?”

Red shrugged as he readied an order that Cannon had barked at him, “Well, Duckie, she’s standing behind the bar so...unfortunately she didn’t get the position.  Maybe next time, hey champ?”  

Duckie frowned a bit, “I’m sorry...I thought they’d really like you…” She looked between the two in a bit of confusion, “Uhm...I think he was just joking with you. I got the job.” He looked over at her with a bright smile, “Oh! That’s great! Congratulations! I never got your name at the commons...what is it?”

“Sunny.” Everyone around the bar chimed in before she could answer. He nodded and gave her a wave, “Nice to formally meet you! I’m Duckie!” She laughed a bit and returned the wave, “Thanks for letting me know of the position.  It’s pretty hard to find a job with my schedule.”

Zen put his arm around her shoulders to lean against her side, “About that, what is your schedule like? I’d like to eventually give Cannon some nights off, but I can work around your classes.  If you can make it in by 3:30 p.m. and stay until closing on a few weeknights that would be great.  You and him can alternate closing on weekends so things can stay fair.”

“That’s fine! I have classes Tuesdays and Thursdays until around 5:00 p.m. so…”

“We’ll work out the kinks! I’m a flexible type of guy. So, learning the bar…” He started to rattle off basics of alcohol and drink orders while Sunny, who had taken a notepad from the counter, furiously took notes. It was a bit overwhelming for her but he wanted to at least get the words into her subconscious so she wouldn’t feel so lost while listening to orders from customers.  The only thing that stopped him was…

Jingle~!

“Evening, everyone.” A female stepped through the door and made her way to the bar.

“Joe!”

Red waved wildly at the woman, “What will it be tonight, lady?” She heaved a sigh and dropped onto a seat, “Sangria, please. Don’t hold out on me, either.”

Joe, or Jaehee Kang.  A long-haired brunette with brown eyes. She normally came in wearing some sort of dress and she always smelled of coffee.

Zen immediately dropped his arms onto the counter in front of her with a huge smile, “Hey Joe, rough day at the shop? Isn’t it a bit early for you to have closed up?” The sparkle in his eyes made her perk immediately, “Oh! I left my assistant manager to close tonight. It was a stressful day so I wanted to see your face!” Her face flushed suddenly when she noticed the words that came from her mouth, “I-I mean! It’s always nice to see everyone here!”

He laughed a bit and reached a hand to pat her shoulder, “You know you are always welcome to come see me...I mean, us...to cheer you up, babe!” He shot her a wink and stood up straight as he motioned for Sunny to come over, “Sunny, this is Joe.  Joe, this is Sunny, my new waitress!”

Joe cleared her throat before smiling softly at the other woman, “Nice to meet you! I hope you enjoy your stay here. It can become a bit rowdy at times but overall everyone is really nice.”  Sunny nodded and smiled back, “Thank you! I hope to get used to all of this very quickly.”  She let out a sigh feeling comfortable that there could potentially be another woman around more often.

Red placed the drink in front of Joe and started fixing up another order, Zen once again addressed Sunny, “Now, where was I?” She looked down at her notebook to her last note, “Well drinks?”

“Right! That’s pretty important to note if they order a well drink. That just means they don’t care the brand as long as it has alcohol in there. They aren’t looking for spending a lot, just getting drunk. I think that’s about it.  Any questions?”

Her eyes ran over her notes but she really didn’t have many questions yet.  She was sure she would have plenty once she actually had to take orders.  She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him, “I do have one question.  Is it prohibited to ask the reasoning behind each name you’ve given people?”

He smiled and led her a bit a ways from everyone, lowering his voice, “I don’t mind that question. Red, is pretty obvious,” He pointed to him, “The first time I met him I noticed the intensity of his hair and the fiery passion of his personality.  Cannon, well…” He nodded towards the twin, “He can fly off the handle pretty easily, I’ve had to pull him away from starting bar fights. First thing I thought was him being a loose cannon.  Duckie…” He looked over at the blonde who had moved over towards Joe, “He’s just a cute kid, yah know? First night he stepped into the bar he had this t-shirt with a cartoon duck on it and I guess it just stuck.”

He pointed to Joe, “She owns a coffee shop near the university and she always smells like a good ol’ cup of Joe...get it?” He smirked to himself, proud of his play on words.  “Clicks? He’s a photographer so it reminds me of all the times I’ve heard the camera shutter go off. And Sugar…” He frowned slightly, “I’ll be honest with you, I named him Sugar Daddy to piss the guy off. He’s the one that fronted the money for this place. A rich guy and really pretentious. He gets under my skin but if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have this place at all.”

She wanted to ask why he would ever want to anger the person that was kind enough to give him money to buy the place but she decided to save that question for when she was more acquainted with everyone. “And my name?”

Zen chuckled a bit as he leaned against the bar, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket to light one, “You have a warm personality. You bring a nice bright perspective to this place, I could feel it from the first words you said to me.  You’re the little ray of sunshine here.”

Sunny pursed her lips and looked down at her shoes, embarrassed at the compliments he had thrown at her.  She didn’t expect him to think so positively about her. “So you do have an explanation for every name, hmm?”

He took a finger to lift her chin up, her heartbeat quickened as she met his gaze, “There’s always a good story behind a name.”  His attention was suddenly stolen by a female calling out his name to which he dropped Sunny’s face. He strut towards the voice that addressed him, “Hey princess~ Back to charm me again with your beautiful smile?”

Sunny stood frazzled as she was left alone but turned to call out after him, “And what about your name? What’s your story?”

Zen stopped in his step and took a long drag, turning his head up to blow the smoke into the air above him, “You’re a smart girl, Sunny. I’ll let you figure that one out on your own.”

She let out a sigh and slowly walked over to sit next to Clicks who had been peering through the magazine while Sugar went on about a new project at work.  “Zen is a complicated guy, huh?” The man looked up from his periodical and gave her a hearty chuckle, “Complicated? Depends on what you find complicating. He’s definitely an interesting one, in my opinion.”

A slight scoff came from Sugar as he finished off the glass of wine, “He’s good at making himself seem intriguing but he’s really just a simple idiot.”

Her attention stayed on Zen who had now busied himself shamelessly flirting with the woman that had beckoned him over. “Whatever word you want to use for him, I think I’ll have my work cut out for me.”

Red had circled around to refill Sugar’s glass and place a glass of water in front of her, “You’ll be fine, sweetheart.  From the bottom of my heart, truly, welcome to Eros.”


	2. Eros Ch.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> Rated PG13+ for Swearin' and Boozin'.

_The sky at night is normally something people don’t experience as much as much as the bright productiveness that the sunny days bring. Sure, It’s fun to look at the stars and find the constellations. You can let your imagination run wild as you travel through space between the wonders that most humans could never experience first hand._

_if you are one of the unlucky ones that can’t find the comforts of sleep, the moon can become your best friend._

_A friend. Is it really a friend? Or your worst enemy?_

 

 

 

“No! They wanted two beers and a vodka tonic! What’s wrong with you?” Cannon grabbed the drinks off Sunny’s tray, slamming them onto the bar top, “Get your shit together! If I have to cancel my weekend off because you can’t get drink orders right I’m going to scream!” He quickly placed another set of glasses on the tray and shoved it towards the girl, “You’ve been here for two weeks and you still can’t get this right? What are you, dumb?”

She steadied the tray onto her arm as she looked down, “I’m sorry…I’ve been really distracted lately. I have this important essay due in class and I’ve spent a lot of time concentrating on it.”

“Sounds like a personal problem to me, and one that shouldn’t affect my work. Maybe you should manage your time a bit better so it doesn’t get in the way.” He snatched his writing pad from the counter and walked off to tend to tables with an air of annoyance following him. Sunny sniffled a bit and hobbled over to her table.

How many times did Zen say he was going to get the flooring replaced at the tables near the back? It was obvious that he never got around to it and as Sunny, a person that still wasn’t completely used to the place, walked over the uneven surface she tripped up enough to go tumbling to the ground. The sound of the shattering glass echoed through the entire bar and she immediately shut her eyes, face flushing in embarrassment.

“Are you okay, Sunny?” Zen ran around from the back of the bar to kneel at her side, “Did you get cut? Don’t move, there’s glass everywhere. Cannon! Grab a broom!”

Cannon came by soon enough and simply glared down at the two, “Are you serious? Not only are you dumb but you’re clumsy as well? Let me go ahead and cancel my plans now since I know I’ll have to come in this weekend. Unbelievable!”

Sunny’s shoulders trembled as she slowly sat up, “I-I’m…sorry…” A few tears trickled to the floor before she stood up and ran into the restroom. Zen frowned and twirled his head around towards the other server, “My office. Now.” Cannon scoffed and threw the broom and dustpan to the floor, his feet stomping loudly as he went to the room, “Should I sit on your mess of papers or the piles of trash?”

Zen ignored the taunts as he cleaned up the mess, apologizing profusely to the patrons at the table and offered drinks on the house. Returning to the bar he quickly prepared the drinks once more, “Red, what is with your brother tonight? He’s been rotten to Sunny. Has he been having issues sleeping again?”

“Not that I know of. Go on and talk to him, I’ll deliver these drinks and watch the bar while you take care of business.” Once Red pushed him away Zen let out a deep sigh and walked into his office. As he slammed the door closed he glared at Cannon, “You want to tell me why you’ve been giving Sunny hell? She’s been trying her hardest but you just keep dragging her through the mud.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“YOU MADE HER CRY!” Zen was exasperated at this point with Cannon’s apathy towards the situation. “If you really want to have the weekend off you should think about being nicer to her so she isn’t as stressed and can handle things without you.”

Cannon scoffed as he looked away from his boss. He rarely looked him in the eye when there were issues since Zen had this weird way of deciphering emotions through facial expressions. His body seemed to curl into itself as he sat on the couch, “It doesn’t matter anyway! She’s messing up left and right so I know you are just going to call me in. What’s the point in babying her?”

Zen paced around in attempts to calm himself down. He normally had patience to deal but with Sunny now crying in the bathroom he couldn’t keep his composure. “You know what…just take the rest of the night off. Get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sleep. As if a night off would help with that.” Although he muttered Zen caught his statement and leaned his arm against the door to prevent him from leaving, “Cannon, are you having trouble with your medications again? You haven’t been sleeping?”

“My personal life is none of your concern!” He got up and tugged at the arm blocking the way but Zen was much stronger and kept his ground. “As your boss and your friend it is my concern, Cannon.”

“Personal matters shouldn’t be discussed on the clock, don’t you think?”

Zen furrowed his brow as his hand dropped to his side, “Then, as strictly your boss it concerns me that you are harassing fellow employees at the workplace. Not only that, but you have been much more irritable than normal to customers. We want to keep them coming back, not scare them away.”

“Fire me if I’m such a big problem.”

“Go home and try to rest. I’ll call you a cab, I won’t let you drive when you are angry and sleep deprived.” Zen opened the door to his office to let Cannon pass. He did, and went straight for his jacket at the bar, “I don’t need a cab, I’ll just walk home.”

Red turned around from the drinks he had been making as he heard the comment, “Walk home? It’s about an hour from here!”

Cannon stopped in his step, twirled around and did a little step dance. He hopped up and clicked his heels together to the right side and opened his eyes wide, “Would yah look at that? My legs aren’t broken! Praise the gods above!” He immediately scowled and went for the door, “I’m not a kid, I can get home.”

“Cannon, please call when you get there.” The worry in Zen’s voice made Cannon snicker, “Worried about me, mom?”

Jingle~!

“Hey Everyone-“

“Fuck off, Duckie.” Cannon pushed past the blonde and slammed the door behind him. Duckie shrugged and walked to sit at the bar top, “What’s with him?”

Red poured a mug of beer and passed it to him, “He’s just being his usual self. Getting angry, making people cry. Hey, boss,” He thumbed back towards the restroom, “Don’t forget that Sunny is still hiding in there.”

Zen perked as he had almost forgotten that piece of information, “Oh yeah! Let me go coax her out. Watch the place for me one more time, Red?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

 

 

 

 

 “I fucking hate that place!” Cannon kicked at a stray empty can on the sidewalk. His hands were stuffed deep into the pockets of his jacket that was zipped straight up to the throat. His words came out spiteful but he slowed his step as he repeated his words in his head. “No I don’t…” He muttered to himself.

In fact, he had grown to enjoy working there. Despite his normal anxiety of being around large groups of people the familiarity of the bar made it easier for him to socialize. Regardless of how detached he acted everyone still welcomed him with a smile. This was his normalcy. This was his life.

The sleepless nights? They were also his life.

Zen hadn’t been wrong in his assumption that he was once again having issues with getting a good night’s rest and that it was affecting his mood tremendously. How else was he supposed to function when his entire being was screaming for a few more hours of sleep? He knew he was more hostile than normal but how was he going to deal with it?

He also knew another trip to the doctor would come to adjust medications. Hospitals, white doctor coats, waiting rooms. These things put him in a foul mood. Everything had started to pile up in his mind and for some reason he turned his aggression on the new server. “She’s such a try hard, it’s annoying!”

Cannon stopped at the end of the street and looked up into the sky. He loved the scatter of stars; but for once he wanted to feel what it was like to not see the moon for a while - unless it was in his dreams. “I should get home and call those assholes…” His soft sigh was carried through the light breeze of the evening as he made his way back to his apartment.

******

“Hello boys~” Zen chimed as the twins stepped into the bar the next day. “Cannon, feeling any better?” A shrug came from the brother who then moved along quietly to start the opening duties. Red gave a half-hearted smile, “We talked. He’ll behave tonight.”

The white-haired male bit his lip as he kept his gaze on Cannon but before he could say anything else Sunny came crashing through the door. Even though her clothes were in order her hair was a slight mess and her complexion was lack luster.

“Damn, Sunny, you look like hell. What bus hit you on your way here?” Red chimed up as he began to wrap an apron around his waist.

She laughed a bit nervously as she clutched a notebook at her chest, “I should probably freshen up.” A quick look around the space landed her attention on Cannon to which she proceeded to rush towards him, “Hey! I’m really sorry about last night. I know you’re looking forward to your weekend off and I should have taken things far more seriously than I did.”

“No it’s okay, I-“

“No! Just listen. I took note of every bottle of alcohol we have and looked up the different types of drinks that can be made. I stayed up all night memorizing my notes and I want you to know that you don’t have to worry! I can handle it! I promise!”

“You…stayed up all night doing that?” He immediately began to sweat. Was this guilt that he felt? Had he really made her feel that terrible that she forced that type of stress on herself? “You didn’t have to go and torture yourself.” His head slacked downwards as he continued to sweep as he had been doing when she approached him. “If you can sleep, you should.” His voice was so soft that Sunny strained her neck towards his voice, “What was that? I didn’t hear you.”

“I said you’re an idiot! But at least you can recognize that you needed to study up a bit! I’m going to clean the pool room!” He stomped off to the back area, leaving the girl more confused than ever, “I didn’t mean to upset him again…”

Red slipped behind her and pat her head, “He’s been having a rough time and has been out of sorts. Just give him some space and he should be back to normal. Not that his normal is in any way nice…” He squinted towards Cannon who had started furiously sweeping the floor, “Do you need to take the night off to sleep, Sunny? I don’t want you passing out on us. Zen may just take the opportunity to give you CPR and get a kiss in.”

“Hey! No I wouldn’t!” Zen poke his head up from below the bar where he had been doing a few counts on the vodka bottles, “I mean, if you were in any danger I would do it but not for that reason!”

Sunny took one last look towards the Cannon in the back before deciding to take Red’s advice now giving her full attention to the two in the vicinity, “I’d rather go without breathing, thanks.”

Red gave a low whistle as he walked back towards the bar top, “She’s got bark, but does she have bite?”

“Why don’t you test my limit and see? I’m running on no sleep and I have a head full of alcohol.”

Zen chuckled slightly as he began wiping down the countertop, “See? I told you she’d be fine here. Now let’s get this place in tip-top shape, I have a good feeling about tonight~”

A few hours into the night, the normal routine had set in and the staff was back to conversation and serving drinks.

“Cannon, I heard you have the weekend off. How long has it been now?” Sugar was at his usual spot with Clicks settled into the seat next to him. Cannon grabbed their empty glasses and placed them behind the bar, “Six months, or something like that.”

Clicks thanked Red when he refilled his beer and spoke towards the other twin, “My my, that’s a rather long time. Have you planned anything exciting?”

“I bet he has a date!” Duckie chimed in as he moved seats farther down to be nearer to them, “Am I right, Cannon?”

As if he was personally summoned Zen had slid towards their end of the bar, eyes sparkling, “Oh~ A date? Is she pretty? Or…is he pretty? I won’t judge~”

With a deadpan expression, he moved to tend to his tables, “Wouldn’t you all like to know?”

“Yeah.” Everyone responded, their voices a chorus of curiosity.  Cannon’s cheeks blushed furiously, turning towards the group, “Oh yeah?! Well you won’t get an answer from me! It’s my weekend off and I’m going to enjoy it! Without all of you!” Small huffs came from him as he dragged himself towards his tables. “Well then,” Sugar cleared his throat, “I suppose he doesn’t want to talk about his date.”

“It’s not a date!” Cannon yelled from across the way, “I mean, it might be! You don’t know and you won’t know!”

Duckie shrugged his shoulders and finished off his beer, “I don’t get that guy.”

Red laughed a bit and refilled his mug, “I don’t think anyone does.”

 

 

********

Saturday rolled around and Eros was as busy as ever, the weekends being the prime time for business. Sunny had been doing fairly well after the issue with Cannon. It turned out the insane study session did her some good after all. “Three beers on tap, A whiskey sour, and an extra dry martini please!”

Zen simply nodded between preparing two other orders. Thankfully he had a solid memory that allowed him to fix multiple things at once. As soon as he was finished he placed the drinks on her tray, shooting her a smile, “You’re keeping up, princess! I’m proud!”

She gave him a smug look as her confidence as a waitress had doubled throughout the night, “I told you, I learn fast. I just needed a push in the right direction. And by the way, perhaps your flirtatious names would be best suited for those scantily clad women down at the end of the bar that have been staring at your ass the entire night?”

He perked immediately and turned around, strutting over towards the giggling group, “Ladies, ladies. Allow me to service you?”

Jingle~!

“Hmph.”

“Cannon! Cannon?”

He walked over to stand at the bar as all the seats were taken, “Can I have a soda?”

“Bro, why are you even here? It’s your weekend off!” Red had served him immediately but stuck around as he was confused to why he was here in the first place.

“It’s her first weekend alone, I decided to stop by and make sure the place wasn’t destroyed.”

Red tilted his head slightly to the side with an even more quizzical look, “You came to work on your day off to make sure this place was in one piece? What happened to your date?”

Cannon choked on his soda a bit at the question, “I never said-“

“Oh no, Cannon! Did you get stood up?” Duckie came up behind him and pat him on the back, “Tough gig, man. There’s plenty of fish in the sea. Well, at least you can always rely on us to hang out with!”

He nodded a bit and wiped his mouth with a napkin, “Yeah, something like that. Hey Duckie, go put something good on at the jukebox, will yah?” The blonde smiled and nodded, running off to pick a song.

“You never had a date, did you?” Red leaned in to mutter towards his twin.

“Nope.”

“You came here because you’d rather be with us than alone at the apartment?”

“Yup.”

Red straightened up and smacked the counter top a few times before yelling, “Cheers to Cannon’s first weekend off in six months!”

“Cheers!” The patrons at the bar echoed.

“A round of shots on me! And by me, I mean on the house!”

Everyone cheered once more at the proclamation, but Zen shifted from his place amongst the women to protest, “Wait, what was that?”

“Don’t worry, boss! Just use the money you would have spent paying Cannon! It all works out, yeah?”

“Why you…!” Zen shot towards Red who slipped past him with a serving tray. “I’m going to kill him…wait, Cannon, what are you doing here?”

“Just killing time.”

“If you’re here, you can always clock in and help out.”

He shook his head slowly, “Nah, I’ll just hang out, If that’s okay.”

“Sure thing. Stay as long as you want.’ Zen reached over to ruffle his hair, “Say, the moon is beautiful tonight. I hope you don’t get to see it for too long.”

Cannon clicked his tongue and looked down at his glass, eyes steady on the floating ice cubes, “Yeah, me too.”


	3. Eros Ch. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> Rated PG13+ for Swearin' and Boozin'.

_Tonight I’m gonna have myself a real good time~  
I feel alive…and the world I’ll turn it inside out - yeah~  
And floating around in ecstasy~  
So don’t. stop. me. now~  
_ _Don’t stop me -_ _‘cause I’m having a good time~_  
Having a good time…~

_**[QUEEN - DON’T STOP ME NOW](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dfu1c3ryidNQ&t=NDljN2I0N2QxNTQ0OTA2Mzc3Y2RjM2M5YTA4YmU2ZjNhNDgyYzA2NSwzdHR3Tml0Nw%3D%3D&b=t%3AY7P1rqnUGwQTAboTCD8hcg&p=https%3A%2F%2Ffeelsgood-anon.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F160683069223%2Feros-bar-au-ch3&m=0) ** _

 

 **  
  
  
  
**“If it’s this much stress, why don’t you just quit?” Duckie turned his head towards Joe as she finished her winded ramblings of her job. **  
**

“I can’t just quit, Duckie. If I quit the entire Café would have to be closed. I love that place! It’s my assistant manager that I’m having issues with.” Joe let out a long sigh before she brought the glass of beer to her lips, “And it’s only been lately that she’s had problems. I wish I could find out what’s going on with her.”

Sugar cleared his throat and calmly placed his arms on the counter. His intense gaze was now fixated on the brunette sitting down the way from him, “If I may give you advice, Joe. Fire her and find someone that can handle the job. It isn’t your problem if she’s having personal issues that are stopping her from being productive. In fact, she should be leaving those things behind as soon as she is on the clock.”

Joe gave a long blink before staring in his direction, “I feel sorry for anyone that works under you, Sugar. They must really hate their job.”

“Nonsense. I expect a superior work ethic and if they perform at a satisfactory level I compensate them accordingly. I am neither their friend nor their family, I am their boss. Your stress will decrease exponentially if you replace your employee with one that can handle their emotions.”

“I’m sure they are a little scared of you as well, Sugar. You can be rather uptight,” Clicks let out casually, eyes never leaving the book he was skimming, “It doesn’t hurt to be concerned for your employees.”

“It’s an unnecessary step for me. Why would I expend the energy when I have so many other things to worry about? You’re all too soft.” Sugar huffed and sipped at his wine. He normally would have kept on the subject but he always seemed to shut his mouth once Clicks weaseled into the conversation.

“Joe, if you ever do decide to drop the Café you can always come work for me! I wouldn’t mind having two gorgeous ladies around here!” Zen had come by and replaced her beer mug, eyes twinkling in her direction, “The customers would love you running around!”

Sugar scoffed at the suggestion, “You can’t afford another employee, Zen. Don’t go around offering positions without consulting with me first. If you’d like a stable job where you would be comfortable financially then you can come work for me.”

“No.” Joe shot a glare towards the man, “No offense, Sugar, but I wouldn’t work for you if it were the last job in the world.” Her expression lightened as a smile fell on Zen, “It’s nice of you to offer! I would love to work next to such a handsome bartender! I-I mean…” A blush spread across her cheeks at her haphazard compliment.

Zen chuckled a bit and turned around to pour another drink that had been ordered, “You always flatter me, babe. I’d like to think I’m more than just a pretty face.”

“Obviously it’s the only thing people see you for.” Sugar finished the glass of wine and tapped his fingers along the countertop, indicating he wanted another, “Isn’t that your curse? Being far too beautiful for the world?”

“Coming from you, it sounds ridiculous.”

“It sounds just as ridiculous when you say it as well.”

Zen refilled the glass of wine with minimal enthusiasm, “There is absolutely no problem acknowledging my good looks! Does it bother you, Sugar~, that I am far more good looking than you are?”

“I retract my statement, you sound downright absurd.”

Red slipped between them to grab an empty glass in attempts to stop any argument that may have potentially arose, “Hey, boss! Cannon needs two long islands, you mind making them?”

Zen nodded, being forced to bite his tongue from the retaliation he was planning on, “Of course, of course. Let me mix these things…you know. Something he can’t do.” He nodded his head towards Sugar.

“Oh yes, I forgot. I don’t know how to pour different things into glasses. Should I resign my position as Executive Director at my company? I’ll let you know when you can put in an application.”

Joe waved a hand towards their direction, “Oh, could I get another beer? If it’s not too much trouble, Zen…” He immediately perked at her voice, “Of course you can, princess! Anything for you~” She sighed in relief to have redirected his attention, “Thanks!”

Sugar snickered but was interrupted by a text on his phone. After a few exchanges he gave a heavy sigh and stood from the bar, “As much as I’d love to stay and continue this, there is an emergency at the office. Are you going to stay, Clicks?”

Clicks finally looked up from his book with a smile, “I will for a bit longer, I can call a cab when I need to get home.”

“Nonsense, just give me a call and I will send a driver. If you will excuse me.” Sugar nodded to the others at the bar and walked out. Zen waited for the door to close completely before letting out a cheer, “Alright! He’s gone early! Time to celebrate!” He placed the two drinks he had been making on Red’s tray before pulling out a few shot glasses, pouring vodka into them liberally, “Who wants a shot? Clicks, you in?”

Clicks reached his hand out to catch the shot when it was slid to him, “Why not? But Zen…should you really be drinking on the clock?”

“Come on, friend! It’s just one. You aren’t gonna snitch on me, are yah?” Zen handed out the shots to the few sitting around the bar top, including Duckie and Joe, “Drink up, or I’ll have to take them myself!”

They all cheered each other and downed the alcohol, Duckie coughing a bit, “Ugh…this stuff is so gross. How do you guys do it?”

“The more you drink, the better it tastes, Duckie.” Zen collected the empty glasses before pouring himself another one, “You learn to love the burn!”

“Zen…” Clicks beckoned him over, lowering his voice, “How many drinks have you had tonight?”

“This is my second one, don’t worry-“

“Don’t lie to me, please.”

Zen let in a sharp breath and took the shot, “It’s the third shot but I had two drinks earlier as well. You know I handle my liquor, Clicks. Just don’t tell Sugar, he’ll be on my ass for days.”

Click’s face fell back down to the open book, “Do I need to worry about it to the point of telling him?”

“Clicks.” He gently placed his hand on the top of the pages, “You know I’m good. I appreciate the concern but could you trust me a bit?” Clicks sighed and looked back up to him with a smile, “I do trust you, I just want to make sure you are okay.”

“Boss, I need three beers,” Cannon called from the other side as he leaned on the counter impatiently, “Stop canoodling with patrons.”

Zen twirled around and with a hand to his chest let out a light gasp, “Clicks is not just any patron! He is our dear friend!”

“Then stop canoodling with Clicks.”

“I am not canoodling with-“

“Three beers, boss, before the end of this year? Preferably before the end of this night.”

The bartender let out a huff and moved to make the drinks, “Am I really that big of a target for you guys?”

“Yup.” A chorus of agreement trickled through the patrons.

“You guys~!” He pouted and placed the beers on Cannon’s tray before leaning back towards Joe, “So what about this assistant manager of yours?”

Joe choked a bit on her drink as he suddenly addressed her, “Oh! She’s been really distracted lately. She’s been late every day since last week and has messed up with the counts on the register. I tried talking to her about it but all she does is apologize without telling me what’s wrong.  I’ve always had an open-door policy and it just drives me crazy that I can’t help her.”

“Does she have a boyfriend? A husband?”

“A boyfriend, I believe. They’ve been together since she started working there.”

“Oh, then it’s simple!” He took the moment to pour himself another shot, “She’s pregnant.”

She tilted her head and stared at Zen, “Excuse me? How do you figure that?”

“Just my intuition. Probably not planned. She’s been trying to figure out how to tell him. That kind of thing eats at your thoughts, you know.” He tapped at his head, “If she’s used to talking to you about things, she’ll come around. Poor girl, under all that stress.”

Duckie leaned his arms on the counter as that one shot had already started kicking in for him, “Maybe she’s just fighting with the boyfriend? What if he left the toilet seat up and she fell in during the middle of the night?”

“Or maybe she just hates her job.” Cannon chimed in as he walked by with a few empty glasses to return, “Or maybe she’s just whiney and it’s that time of the month for her. Women can be unbearable then.”

Joe rubbed at her temples. It was times like these when she wondered why she ever came to this place. “I don’t think it’s any of your suggestions.”

“A bet, then!” Zen pat the counter, “I got pregnancy, Duckie has a fight. Cannon, pick between the two you suggested.” Cannon rolled his eyes but thought for a moment, “Time of the month.”

“What about you, Clicks. You in? Two bucks to the winner.”

The turquoise-haired male shook his head, “I’m not one to gamble. But Joe, I do believe she is dealing with a new stressor that she doesn’t know how to handle. If I may throw my two-cents in…just try to be supportive and give her space. If this is the first time she’s been this irresponsible at work then giving her the benefit of the doubt may prove to be the best bet.”

Joe gave him a genuine smile, “Thank you, Clicks. That’s the best advice I’ve gotten tonight. I’m sure she will come around.”

Zen let out a huff as he continued to collect bets around the bar top, “Clicks is too wholesome for this bar. A round of shots to celebrate our golden boy!”

“Cheers!”

 

 

 

A few hours into the night and the bar had filled with patrons, including many females that had Zen’s attention. He had kept taking shots and at this point had his shirt completely unbuttoned.

“Oh Zenny~ You’re so manly!”

“You should dance for us!”

“Yeah! Show us those old moves of yours!”

“Duckie! Go put that one song on the jukebox. You know the one I like!” Zen flicked a quarter towards the blonde who obediently skipped off to find it. Duckie was rather used to the jukebox by now as he often was instructed to go find a song. He had this odd knack for finding the perfect song for any situation.

The tune started playing and the white-haired male started tapping his foot as he stood behind the bar top, “Yeah! I love this song!” He swayed a bit at the slow melodic beginning, baritone voice singing along, but as soon as the hi-hat began he slid over to the girls with a far more fluid movement of his shoulders.

_♫ I’m a shooting star leaping through the sky~♫_

_♫Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity~♫_

Zen jumped up onto the counter, singing towards the fawning girls.

_♫I’m a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva~♫_

_♫I’m gonna go go goooooooooo~ There’s no stopping me~♫_

Everyone in the place was clapping along, cheering for him as he continued to sing along. If asked how many drinks he had, he wouldn’t be able to tell you. He had lost count about an hour prior but in this alcohol induced moment he felt as if all eyes were on him just as in the past and he was loving every moment of it.

Zen bent over to grab a bottle of beer to use as a fake microphone and one of the girls stood up to smack his ass. He straightened up as he felt the sting, letting out a loud howl and gyrating his hips to the beat. He immediately picked up the lyrics where the song had continued, holding the bottle to his face:

_♫ I’m a sex machine ready to reload~♫_

_♫Like an atom bomb about to oh oh oh oh OH OHHHH EXPLODE!♫_

The open shirt? Gone. He started swinging it over it his head as he continued to give the patrons a passionate show. As soon as the chorus came back up, he shouted, “Sing with me!”

_♫Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball~♫l_

_♫Don’t stop me now , If you wanna have a good time just give me a call~♫_

One of the girls pulled at his pant leg to which he looked down and smiled, “Princess~ You want these gone too?” The moment his hand reached to unbuckle his belt Clicks stood up, “Zen! Come here!”

Zen shot a glance over towards the summon with a wicked smile, “Clicks, I didn’t think you’d want to enjoy this. I suppose, for an old friend…” He danced over after dropping his shirt off with one of the ladies and ripped his belt off, snapping it over his head.

“Damnit, Zen get down from there, this is too much!”

Jingle~!

“Come on Clicks, just have a good time~”

“This isn’t a good time, this is a disaster!” The familiar low voice roared over the song and Clicks winced at the sight of Sugar. Red ducked around them, “Uh oh…daddy is home…”

Zen, on the other hand, was far too preoccupied with the chants, coaxing him to chug the beer. He pointed to the bottle in his hand, “You guys mean this one~? Here goes nothing!” He popped the top off and began to drink, easily downing the entire thing in one go. He lifted the rim from his lips and turned it upside-down, showing all of the contents to have been consumed. Applause from the crowd ensued and the male, now only a moment away from stripping his pants, turned to finally meet the angry glare of Sugar. “Oh! I didn’t know you were coming back…”

“Get down from that counter now,” The raven-haired male bellowed as he walked towards him, “We need to talk.”

“Oh calm down! I was just having a little fun! Daddy~ stay a while and loosen up!”

Sugar’s gaze hardened as Zen addressed him as such, “You’re drunk. I’m not pleased.” With long strides he went over to pull Clicks out the door, “We will chat tomorrow, Zen. Don’t you dare avoid me.”

Zen stuck his tongue out and turned back to his small audience, “Now ladies, where were we? My pants?”

 

 

 

“How many drinks did he have?” Sugar finally asked Clicks as they walked out to the car, “Why was he drunk?”

Clicks gave a light shrug at the barrage of questions he was getting, “I was reading most of the evening, I didn’t take notice of how many-”

“Are you covering up for him?” Sugar sighed the moment there was no response. Of course he covered for him, Clicks could never bring himself to get anyone in trouble, especially Zen. “You know that I think this isn’t good.”

This is exactly what he wanted to avoid. He had a lot of money invested in this place and Zen going back to his drinking habits was sure to be the demise of the bar. In truth, he didn’t like visiting that place but in his attempts to keep an eye on the bartender he penciled in certain times of the week to show up and see how things were going. How was he suppose to keep him in check if he couldn’t be there every night?

Not only was it a matter of his assets, but Clicks had wanted to help Zen so badly after his career was destroyed in an attempts to keep him from drowning. Protecting the white-haired male was also on the top of his priorities.

All three of them had known eachother for a good length of time and even though Sugar had a tolerable amount of trust in Zen he couldn’t help but question his loyalty after the spectacle he had just witnessed. “I’ll let this one slide, but if he does this again, you have to tell me. I understand you want to be a supportive friend to him, but you cannot enable him.”

Clicks sighed deeply as he got into the backseat of the car, closely followed by Sugar, “I’m sorry, I should have stopped him earlier. I know it’s an issue but I thought he’d be fine.”

“He used to be an actor and a good one at that. You really think he can’t deceive you?”

“He wouldn’t do anything harmful on purpose!”

“I agree, but he apparently has no self-control.”

Clicks stared out of the window as the vehicle began to move. He couldn’t refute that fact and that made him as anxious as ever, “We’ll just have to keep a better eye on him. What time is it? I need to call my girlfriend when I get home before she throws a fit.”

“You two are together again? Since when?”

“Since this afternoon.”

“Tch.” Sugar looked at his phone in annoyance at the news, “And next week you’ll be broken up again. I don’t really approve of-”

“What you should be worrying about is Zen. Just talk to him tomorrow, I’m sure he has a good reason for his behavior tonight.”

Sugar clicked his tongue while he leaned his arm against the door to stare at Clicks, “Whatever you say, dear.”

 

 

**********************

“You alive, Zen?” Duckie spoke over the freshly poured beer, “You had quite a night last night…how many numbers did you get?”

“Hmmm…five. No wait…” He lifted his shirt up slightly to reveal the faded number written in permanent marker on the side of his abs that he wasn’t able to scrub off in the shower, “Six.” His laughter filled the almost empty space as it had been early in the day, “I’m fine~ I handle my liquor well!”

“Right, that’s why you’ve been downing coffee and rubbing at your temples the entire time.” Cannon shot out from the back, Sunny following soon after.

“I heard you had quite a party. I’m upset that I wasn’t invited!” She stifled a laugh as she dumped a few empty glasses on the counter. Zen flashed her a smile and leaned in, letting the buttons that he normally kept undone at the top of his shirt reveal more of his chest, “I’m always open to private shows, if you would like a replay of the night’s events~”

“No thanks. I ate lunch and I’d rather not throw it up.”

Cannon scoffed at the remark as he took a few drinks Red had prepared for him, “Damn, even Sunny gets the jabs in now.” He held his hand out for a high-five when she passed by him, which she responded to proudly.

“Sunny, babe! How can you be so cruel to your lovely Zenny~!”

“She’s not an idiot like the other broads you talk to, that’s how.”

Zen shot a glare towards Cannon, “Interesting that you defend her now, since just a few days ago you were-”

Jingle~!

“Everyone…”

“Joe!”

She quickly walked up to the bar and pointed towards Zen, “You know her, don’t you?”

He turned towards Joe with a confused look, “What? Who? Maybe? Is she cute?”

“My assistant manager! You talk to her!”

“Princess, you know how many women I talk to in a week. It’s possible that she stopped by-”

“You were right! She’s pregnant!”

Groans echoed around the bar top as everyone started pulling out cash. Zen started laughing as he collected the money, “I knew it! Sometimes I even surprise myself, you know?”

Joe sat down and accepted the beer he put in front of her, “How do you do it? Are you psychic or something?”

“I do predict a lot of things, don’t I? Maybe I should turn myself in for scientific research. Being this beautiful and this perceptive is just downright unnatural for regular humans!”

Jingle~!

“Zen. We talk now.”

“Sugar!”

He nodded towards everyone and immediately head for the office, “Don’t keep me waiting, I have a busy schedule.”

Joe pursed her lips as she watched him disappear into the room, “I thought this was one of the days he doesn’t come in?”

“It is…”

Red popped around to grab a bottle of Rum, “So we can rule out psychic, yeah?”

Zen elbowed Red as he frowned, “Ugh…I was hoping he’d forget. Hey Joe, take this, “ He handed her the money from the bet, “Use it to buy your assistant manager something nice for her baby shower, yeah? Tell her it’s from the Eros bar.”

“Oh, how thoughtful of you, I will! Thank you! And good luck in there.” She nodded her head towards the office.

“Luck be a lady tonight~” Zen mused as he stepped from behind the bar.

“Sorry boss,” Red placed another drink order on Sunny’s tray as she came up for an order, “Looks like luck is Sugar tonight and knowing him…you aren’t getting any.”

Zen let out an irritated sigh, “And i was having such a good time…”


	4. Eros Ch.4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

_When you’re feeling down and like things aren’t going your way, go to the place where you will be met with open arms. Things will always work out, even if it’s not the way you expect it to._

 

 

 

“Say Red, a quarter?” Duckie leaned on the bar top with a hand held out towards the bartender patiently waiting for the token to go turn the jukebox on.

Red mused as he dipped his hand into the container where they kept the coins especially for these occasions. A deep frown crossed his features as he continuously felt around until eventually his eyes fell downwards, “Ah damn, sorry Duckie. Let me go find some in Zen’s office. We forgot to refill it.”

Duckie nodded with a smile, sitting back to wait for the other to return, the choice of song burning into his mind.

It was a surprise to everyone when within a week the young man memorized the entire song list from that machine. It was even more impressive that he knew every song and could remember every word. His affinity for keeping mass amounts of information was something to be envious of but for some reason he would do less than mediocre in his school work. How could a guy with that much potential do so horribly?

He just absolutely hated school now.

Spending the entirety of his high school life studying without enjoying anything else, he found this new freedom of exploring things for fun. As everyone knew in the bar, he spent most nights playing video games and as they came to find out when he first started coming to Eros, he adored listening to music.

He wasn’t musically inclined, though, as he couldn’t so much as carry a tune in a basket. Every song he listened to he absorbed and on his first few visits he quickly discovered the jukebox. He couldn’t help but be drawn to a simple machine that churned out tunes. It was a challenge to him to fit a song to a situation and having the restriction of the box’s playlist made it seem like a game for him. To appease the young man, everyone always urged him to pick the song. This made him feel important. This made him feel like he had a purpose.

“Anyone have a quarter?” Red shouted as he walked back out to the floor, digging through his own pockets to see if he had anything, “I forgot to go to the bank and get change, Duckie. I’ll find you one!” He walked around as the few scattered in the bar that early in the day checked their pockets and purses.

Duckie started getting nervous as it started to look like the coin would not show up any time soon. He never carried cash on him either since he was afraid of being mugged. Red walked up behind him and pat his back, “Zen should be here soon, he’ll find one! Just hang tight, okay?”

“Yeah...okay.” the boy’s voice was soft, his eyes focused on the mug of beer in front of him. His sorrow was distracted as Sunny had walked from the back room which prompted him to give her a smile, “Hey Sunny, how are you today?”

She beamed brightly in his direction as she set a few empty glasses on the bar top, “I’m doing great! Thanks for asking! Say...you look down. Whats going on?”

Duckie’s expression fell to a somber one then, “Oh...I just don’t have a quarter to play the jukebox with. But Zen will have one! He always does for me!”

Her head tilted to the side as she stared at him. Did he really get this upset over not being able to play a song? Reaching a hand into the pockets of her apron she pulled out a coin, “You could have just asked me! Here, go put something on, hot rod.”

His face lit up immediately as she flicked it towards him, “Thanks Sunny! You’re the best!” He jumped and ran towards the jukebox as he began to peer through the songlist.

Red came back around the bar to make a drink order but hovered around the girl, “You’re doing the lord’s work, yah know.”

Sunny rolled her eyes and turned towards him, “I just gave him a quarter. It’s not like I paid his college tuition or anything.”

“True, but this is important to him! You just made him pretty happy, take pride in that!”

 

Jingle~!

 

“Oh, look at all the beautiful people in here. I don’t know if I’m in the right place!”

“Hey Zen!”

Zen bowed deeply at the chorus of acknowledgment.  He’d never turn down a moment to catch so much attention, “I hope you lovely folk are having a good time and that Red has taken care of you in my stead!” He pulled a new pack of cigarettes from his pocket and began to pack them against his palm as he walked around the bar, “Everyone is taken care of, right?”

“Of course, boss! By the way, we need quarters. We ran out from the Duckie bucket and Sunny here had to save us from a meltdown.”

Zen grunted a bit as he tugged a cigarette from the box, placing it to teeter between his lips, “Oh, I have an emergency jar in the office. It’s under…” He grimaced thinking of the state of that room, “I’ll go grab it.”

Sunny scrunched her nose as he watched him light the stick in his mouth, “You should really think about quitting. Do women really enjoy kissing you when you taste of tobacco?”

He stopped in his step and turned slowly. Taking a long drag he tilted his head upwards to blow smoke into the air, gaze kept steadily on her, “Would you like to kiss me and find out?”

 “No.”

 Zen slouched defeatedly. He couldn’t fathom the idea that there was a female out there that wouldn’t melt at his advances. His beautiful face, his perfect body, his sex appeal; there wasn’t anyone that could resist him, or so he thought. A cheeky grin spread across his face as he had a revelation and he wagged a finger towards her, “You are playing hard to get, aren’t you? I can see right through you, Sunny! Fear not, fair maiden! Your knight will persevere! Drag me through whatever test you choose but I will prove my worthiness!”

Accompanied by an irritated sigh, she called out after him as he had started to take long confident strides towards his office, “What? I’m not putting you through any tests! I really just-” Her words were cut off by the door closing behind him, “I just don’t want to kiss you!”

“He won’t let up, yah know. So either kiss him or deal with the fact that your boss is slightly delusional,” Red said as he took a seat at the bar top, “We’ve all just accepted the latter and let him live his fairy tale life.”

“Isn’t that a bit unprofessional of him, to be hitting on his employees?” She huffed slightly, busying her hands with cleaning off the serving trays, “You know, sexual harassment and what not.”

Red gave a hearty laugh, “Oh, you think that’s him flirting? You’ll know when he’s trying to hit on you and that’s definitely not what he was doing. But seriously, if it bothers you that much just have a chat with him. He’s not unreasonable and I’m pretty sure if it makes you uncomfortable he will stop immediately. He acts like a big shot but he’s really just a softie.”

Sunny looked towards the office. She wasn’t really sure if it did bother her or not but for the sake of professionalism she would have to have a conversation with him. Her attention was stolen, though, by Duckie pressing the buttons on the jukebox harder than normal, “Hey, Duckie, you okay over there?”

“It ate the quarter!” He slumped over and walked towards the bar, “This is the worst day!”

She giggled slightly and flicked another coin at him, “Don’t worry, have another one.”

He immediately perked and caught it, running back to the machine, “Thanks again, Sunny!” He slipped the quarter in and pressed the button but it failed to play once more. He continued to press, each time a bit more pathetically, “Not again! Ugh…” His leg swept up to kick the jukebox but it brought him pain instead of success, “Ow! Ow ow ow!” He crumpled to the floor to grab at his now sore foot, “All I wanted was to play a song!”

Red shot up from his seat to jog towards the blonde, “Hey! Don’t hurt yourself now!” He knocked on the side of it to see if it would start before turning to shout towards the office, “Boss, come out here!”

As if he were summoned by the heavens above Zen swung the door wide open, “What? What happened?” He looked at the boy sitting on the floor and rushed over with the jar of quarters under his arm, “Are you okay, Duckie? Do I need to call an ambulance? Red, call an ambulance!”

Duckie shook his head and pointed towards the jukebox, “It’s not working!”

Zen frowned and examined the thing closely. He leaned to search the back and after seeing it plugged in straightened up to start slamming it all over. Sunny rolled her eyes as she watched them try to fix the jukebox, “You should probably call someone to-”

The bartender held a finger to his lips to silence her, “We’ve got this. Hey Red, help me shake it.”

Red nodded and between the two they rattled it around a bit. Satisfied with the amount of movement, Zen grabbed a quarter from the jar and pushed it into the coin slot. He turned to Duckie with a big smile, “Do you believe in magic?”

Duckie shook his head slowly, “Not really…”

“You will today!” He slammed his hand on the button, “Tada~!”

Silence.

Zen coughed a bit, “I said...tada~!” He hit the button again but nothing played. He turned his head to glare at the machine that dared make a mockery of him. Pressing the button a few more times he let out a sigh, “Sorry, kid. Looks like it’s broken. I’ll get a guy out first thing tomorrow, okay?”

Red couldn’t help but snicker as he pulled Duckie up from the floor, “You should really work on your magic tricks, boss. That one didn’t really pan out the way you wanted.”

“Oh quiet, you. I’ll go call a repairman, you get Duckie a drink.”

Dragging a defeated Duckie back to the bar, Red swung around behind it to pour the boy a beer, “Tough break, huh?”

The blonde shrugged as he took the glass, “What else could go wrong today, really. It’s just been one thing after the other.”

“What’s been going on? You’ve been pretty sad lately,” Sunny said as she leaned towards him, “Want to talk about it?”

He began to tap his fingers along the condensation forming on the outside of his drink. It wasn’t normal for him to wear his heart on his sleeve so candidly even though he often came with flimsy complaints about school to the bar but this day was wildly different. The deep breaths he took seemed to gather every concern from his mind but when his lips moved not a sound came. He let out a frustrated sigh as he leaned to rest his head on his left arm, “Sunny, how do you not worry about school? Every time I see you here you are bright and witty. What’s your secret?”

Her eyes blinked slowly at his question, “Duckie, I’m always worried about school. Who wouldn’t be?” She pulled out her tips from the pocket of her apron to organize the bills in attempts to busy her hands, “Midterms are here and I have two research papers due at the end of the week. I try not to bring my worries to work though, you know?”

“I slept through my midterm this morning!” He finally cried before his face buried into the crook of his elbow, “I’ve already missed so many days in that class! There is no way for me to pass now!” His head raised to finish off the beer, handing her the glass for her to refill it, “My parents are going to kill me! I already took a year off and I had to repeat a few courses that I failed before.”

“Duckie, what are you majoring in anyway?” She pushed the beer back towards him, “I never got around to asking.”

“I’m still undeclared. I don’t know what to do with my life.” He let out a small groan and chugged half of the drink in front of him, “I have no idea what I’m going to do. I feel like everything is crashing down around me. Why can’t I just stay home and play video games all day?”

Red came behind Sunny and nudged her towards a table that were ready to order, “Go take care of them, would yah?” She gave Duckie a smile before wandering off to the patrons, “Deciding what you want in life is hard, don’t think too hard on it and live your life the way you want. Things will turn out alright!”

Duckie shrugged a bit as he finished off the beer, “It must be nice to have a job and a place to be, yeah Red?”

“Sure! But you have a place as well!.” Red widened his arms and took a look around the establishment, “You can always call Eros home. We’ll be here for you. How about another beer, friend?”

 

 

********

“Oh come on, Sugar! It’s not like it will break the bank. It will make Duckie happy!”

“But why not just buy another jukebox? I see no point in trying to fix that piece of junk. Perhaps a more stylish one would suit the bar’s needs.” The raven-haired man was glancing over the paper that Zen had handed him before pouring a glass of wine, “Is this really a necessary expense?”

“It isn’t necessary, but I don’t want to replace it. I wouldn’t want him to have to memorize an entirely new song list! Plus it’s part of the bar! It was here when I bought the place. ” Zen placed a napkin down along with the wine glass in front of Sugar, “Just give me the thumbs up so the guy can buy the part tomorrow.”

Sugar rolled his eyes and initialed the page, “I will need a copy of this and any receipts. You better be glad that I am satisfied with the revenue this place is bringing in.”

“Thank you~!” Zen stuffed the estimate in his pocket and asked Red to watch the bar as he disappeared into his office to make a phone call.

“Cut the boss some slack, Sugar. Duckie seemed really distraught about the jukebox and he just wants to put a smile on his face.” Red said as he came back around the bar, “Can you put a price on someone’s happiness?”

“Around two-hundred and fifty, actually.” Sugar took a careful sip of his wine, “There’s always a price, Red.”

 

Jingle~!

 

“Hey Duckie!”

“Hi everyone!” His face adorned a smile, unlike the day before. Sunny grinned and ran over to him, “You seem in a much better mood! I’m glad!”

Duckie blushed a bit as he sat relaxed at the bar, “I talked to my professor and she’s letting me take the midterm tomorrow. I get a percentage taken off but at least I can pass it if I study hard enough!”

“Then why are you here instead of at home studying?” Sugar almost chided the boy from across the bar. The blonde ducked his head as Red had served him a beer almost immediately, “I just wanted to stop by and say hey, and thank you guys for being supportive yesterday. It means a lot! Oh…” His eyes fell to the jukebox that had caused him to spiral less than twenty-four hours prior, “Were they able to fix it?”

“Not until tomorrow, sorry bud.” Red leaned over the bar to pat Duckie on the head, “Let it be a reward for when you ace that exam tomorrow, yeah?”

Duckie nodded with a hint of a smile although he was a bit upset that it was still out of service. “Yeah, I guess it’s good that I don’t have any distractions. I can’t stay long, I have to cram!”

Sunny threw an arm around his shoulders as she still stood next to him, “Hey, things worked out! And you know what? You don’t need that machine to get a song going in this place!” She cleared her throat as she started tapping along the bar top and began to sing, “Don’t worry about a thing~ ‘cause every little thing is gonna be alright~!” Her voice was shaky and slightly off-tune, but she continued on with confidence, “Rise up this morning~ smiled with the morning sun~ three little birds~ pitch by my doorstep~!”

Red started bobbing his head to the beat of her song, taking a pen from his apron to tap along the metal of the dishwasher to help her keep the beat.

“Singing sweet songs~ of melodies pure and true~ singing-!” She turned and pointed towards Duckie, “This is my message to you-u-u~! Come on everyone, sing along! Don’t worry about a thing~ ‘cause every little thing is gonna be alright~!”

Everyone sang along with the chorus, a few joining in with keeping the beat along tables. Zen had emerged from his office then leaning against the frame of the door, arms crossed, as he watched Sunny start to bounce around. She caught his gaze and stuck her tongue out towards him, slinking over with awkward dance moves which led to her grabbing his wrist to pull the man towards the bar top to join in.

“This is sweet of you,” He whispered as soon as he was close enough to reach her ear. Her heart skipped a beat at she felt his words seep into her. Her body turned so sharply she nearly pushed him back, “Oh, which reminds me, Zen, I need to speak to you. A moment in your office?”

“Surely!” He twirled back around and led her to the room, letting her sit on the couch, “What’s up, princess?”

“Well, that’s what’s up. I’d like to ask you to discontinue your flirtations with me. I think it’s inappropriate at work and I’d prefer if you addressed me as you do your other employees.”

Zen pursed his lips at the request. It never occurred to him that anyone would be uncomfortable with how he was as most not only welcomed but begged for it. “Of course, Sunny. I never thought you’d be offended by that. This is a bit awkward.”

“It’s not that! I just think that if I work for you we should act professional. No hard feelings!” She nodded firmly and held her hand out for a handshake, “Right boss?”

He smiled softly, meeting her hand to shake it, “Right, no hard feelings. Thanks for letting me know, I promise I won’t do it anymore.”

“Of course I’d come talk to you. I heard you were a reasonable type anyway. Thank you for taking my feelings into consideration.” She stood up and brushed off her bottom, “Now let’s get back out there. I know I don’t sing well but I think I hear Duckie singing and...well…” She winced a bit as the incredibly off voice started getting louder.

Zen opened the door to let her exit, rubbing his temples as his body stood to keep it open, “You’re sweet, yeah. But I didn’t say you were smart…”

She elbowed him lightly as she walked past, “Duckie, shouldn’t you go study for your test?” Her voice called out over the sounds, hoping to stop the torture that he was now inflicting on the rest of the patrons.

“Oh yeah! I really should. Wish me luck, everyone!”

“Good luck!”

 

 

 

********

 

Jingle~!

 

“Duckie!”

“I passed!” The boy shouted as he made his way towards the bar top, “Can you believe it? All that studying paid off!”

Red passed by and pat him on the back, “Congratulations, buddy! I knew you could do it!”

“Damn, there goes five bucks.” Cannon dug into his apron and slapped the money on Red’s chest, “Seems like he’s not useless after all.”

Duckie frowned, slipping his backpack off to sit comfortably at on the stool, “Hey! You put a bet on my grade? That’s pretty harsh.”

“You passed your midterm, I made five bucks. It’s a win for both of us! Oh, guess what!” He pointed towards the jukebox, “It’s fixed! Go on, play something!.” He flicked a quarter at him, “You deserve it.”

Duckie’s eyes grew wide at the news, catching the coin mid-air, “Awesome! Thanks Red! I guess Sunny was right, yeah? Things always do work out.”

Red chuckled slightly while he prepared the two drinks that Cannon had barked at him, “I suppose she was. Cannon, order up!”

 


	5. Eros Ch. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

“Oh, Zen. I received a letter from my sister this morning,” Clicks dug around in his satchel, “Want to do the honors?” He had made it to the bar rather early this day, excited to share the news.

 Zen brought a shot glass to his lips that he had previously prepared, shooting the liquid down his throat, “Of course! It’s been a while, yeah? Hand it over.”

 Clicks pulled out the envelope and placed it in the open palm of the bartender, “It has. I know she’s been busy with work so I’m assuming time got the best of her.”

 “Mind if stick my nose in the business?” Sunny interjected as she wiggled herself between the two, “Why don’t you read it yourself? Isn’t it personal?”

 “Zen reads it so brilliantly, just like a script from his old days! She doesn’t write anything that would embarrass her anyway, in case our parents get a hold of it.” Clicks pointed towards a few bottles, “I think this occassion calls for a nice brandy, don’t you?”

 Zen rolled up his sleeves as he turned towards the bottles, “Getting fancy on me, Clicks? I may just join you!” Clicks chuckled a bit as he watched him prepare the drinks, “Just one, you hear me?”

 “Yeah yeah…” the white-haired man placed the drink on the bar top before he cleared his throat to begin reading out loud, “Dear brother. I hope this letter finds you well. I’m sorry I have not written you sooner, I have had a lot going on. Work has been stressful and I’ve been going through a lot of personal issues. I won’t divulge those things in this letter as I am aware that these are read out loud. Hello Zen and all of Eros!”

 Zen smiled and looked around the place, “Hey, guys! Clicks’ sister says hello!” A chorus of cheers trickled around, and he took a drink of his glass before continuing, “This letter will be short but I need to let you know something important. My letters will slow for a while, as I will be moving...to another...country…” He trailed off as he read ahead a bit. He let in a deep breath and blew it out slowly, “My boyfriend is moving for work and I’m going with him. I’m pregnant. Please don’t tell mom and-” His hand flicked the letter back to it’s owner, “You really should read this to yourself.”

 Clicks took the page and read to the end, his expression falling slowly, “I need to try to call her. If you will excuse me.” He finished off the rest of his drink quickly and disappeared to the back room for privacy.

 Sunny slowly looked towards Zen as the once jovial attitude that was shared between the two males had now turned sour. “Is he okay, Zen?”

 “I hope so. He didn’t look too happy about the letter. He’s pretty protective of his sister…” Zen let out a sigh and poured himself another glass of brandy, sipping at it carefully, “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though. He is the type to deal with things internally.”

 She reached for Clicks’ empty glass to clear the bar top, “I sure hope so. He seemed really distraught. Say, he mentioned you reading scripts, what’s that all about?”

 Zen dragged the rim of his glass along his lower lip, both to nurse the drink and formulate his thoughts. The question had caught him off guard as it had been a while since someone came around that didn’t know of his past. As the cup centered on his mouth he drained the liquid slowly, “I had a short time where I took a few roles in plays. Clicks came to a few of my shows.”

 “A few roles? Don’t be modest Zen! He was a great musical actor! He truly is a magnificent presence on the stage!” Joe added excitedly as she had also been at the bar for a bit on her day off, “You should have seen him act! Such passion, such talent!”

 Sunny looked over him a bit as a smirk crept along her lips. She could see it; his strong personality, his constant need for attention, his strikingly good looks. “What happened, Zen? Get tired of the stage and wanted to get the girls fawning over you in a bar?”

 His lips parted, tongue running over the inside of the top row of his teeth. His hand lightly shook as he placed his empty glass down. It was clear that the subject had thrown him into an uncomfortable state and as talkative as the man could be he found himself unable to form proper sentences. “Something like that,” he managed to mutter under his breath, “I’m going to check on Clicks, I’ll be back in a moment.”

 “Sunny...you don’t know about Zen?” Joe asked as she worriedly looked towards the man that had walked off, “We don’t really talk about it...it’s a sensitive subject.”

 “A sensitive subject? What about that flirt could even be sensitive? He sure does call a lot of attention to himself for wanting keep his life a secret.”

 “Hey...please just drop it? He’ll talk about it if he wants to.”

 The waitress puffed her cheeks out as she shrugged, “Whatever, it really can’t be that bad since he’s doing well here.” They both turned as the two males came from the back area, Clicks visibly distraught. He plopped into a barstool and carefully placed his phone in front of him on the counter, hand at the ready in case it made any noise, “Zen, have any strong whiskey tonight?”

 “I got a shipment of Booker’s last week, that strong enough for you?” Zen had already reached for a clean glass knowing the answer to his question. Surely enough, Clicks nodded in affirmation while holding his hand out for it, “Don’t put the bottle away, I’ll need a few refills.”

 Joe sighed a bit as she gathered her things, “Unfortunately I won’t be able to partake in the fun that you all will be having, but do be safe tonight. I have a few things to take care of before I call it a night. Goodbye!”

 After waving Joe off, Sunny disapprovingly placed her hands on her hips and looked towards Clicks, “If you are stressed, you really shouldn’t use alcohol to solve your issues. It’s a pretty unhealthy way to cope-”

 Zen whirled around and placed his open palm against her mouth to cut her off, “Hey, Princess- I mean, Sunny. You really shouldn’t tell people to not drink when you work at a bar. It would put me out of business if everyone followed your advice.”

 The turquoise-haired man let out a soft chuckle, intermittently taking sips as he spoke, “Under normal circumstances I would agree with you completely, my dear. Tonight, though, I hope to forget all of the things that are now running through my head.”

 Jingle~!

 “Good evening, everyone.”

 “Sugar!”

 The suited man gave a slight nod as he made his way towards his usual spot next to Clicks. He turned his face slightly at the strong scent of alcohol that burned at his nostrils, “What the hell are you drinking, Clicks? Is that even consumable?”

 “Of course it is! You think I serve trash in this place?” Zen pushed the bottle into Sugar’s face, “This is a great bourbon to have in stock!”

 Sugar read the label as it was centimeters from him, a deep frown creasing between his brows, “one hundred and thirty proof? Are you mad?”

 Zen pulled it away as quickly as he could to get it away from the reach of the man, “Hey, you want quality, I get quality. These are your standards, after all.”

 “My concern isn’t about having it in stock. My concern is that you are serving that rubbish to Clicks. I don’t want him throwing up all over the inside of my car on the way home.”

 “He’s a big boy, Sugar. He doesn’t need you policing his choices.”

 “Is it wrong to worry for my friend’s health? I wasn’t aware of this new rule. Please do send a formal letter next time so I am educated in the future.”

 Clicks cleared his throat as he handed the empty glass back to Zen, nodding for a refill, “Relax, Sugar. I requested it. I needed something strong and he delivered. I can handle it.”

 The raven-haired male gazed towards him suspiciously, “And what could possibly warrant needing to drink something that could easily clean this entire bar? Am I going to have to babysit both of you in your drinking habits?”

 Clicks pulled the letter back out from his satchel and handed it over to Sugar for him to read. As they were both distracted Zen wandered towards the other end of the bar top, taking the opportunity to pour a shot of the whiskey for himself.

 Sunny crept up behind him and watched him take the drink, “And why do you need that shot?”

 “Sympathy pains.”

 She scrunched her nose as he let in a sharp inhale at the burning in his chest, leaning her body against the bar top to begin her reprimand, “A smoker and a drinker? What a catch.”

 Zen looked at her with a serious gaze she’d never seen before, causing her to recoil slightly. “Good thing you aren’t attracted to me, right Sunny?” He hissed lowly, “We can stay as professional as you’d like at this rate.” He set the bottle down and walked around to head to his office, “Oh, and another thing, Sunny,” He emphasized her name this time in a spiteful tone, “Don’t question me about those things. It ticks me off.”

 Her arms had protectively crossed around her chest in response to his seething words and when the door to the room closed she dragged herself towards Sugar and Clicks, “I think it’s safe to say he’s mad.”

 “You fell for his charm, did you?” Sugar asked as he set the letter down with a sigh, “He’s got a lot more anger inside him than he lets on. Don’t pay attention to him, let him throw his tantrum.”

 Sunny relaxed at the words, feeling that this may not be something entirely her fault, “Hey Sugar, why did he stop his hobby? I’m sure he could still do a few plays here and there if he wanted. Red could run the bar while he needed to rehearse.”

 “Hobby?” Sugar rested his arms on the bar top as he leaned forward, giving her his full attention, “Acting wasn’t just a hobby, it was his career. He crumbled under the pressure of some rumors and turned to drinking. He let his vices go uncontrolled and he was dropped by his manager. No one wanted to touch him after all the drunken spectacles. Did he really tell you it was just a hobby?”

 She shook her head nervously, “N-no! He really didn’t say much when I asked him about it. He basically avoided the question entirely. I didn’t know it was that serious…”

 Clicks smiled lazily at Sunny as he pushed his empty glass towards her for another, “He’s a lot better now! Two years at this bar and things have been absolutely wonderful!” Clearly, the two drinks had begun to take their toll on him. She took the glass hesitantly, looking around only to remember that Zen was the only bartender currently in the bar.

 “Clicks...I can only really serve you a beer, they don’t let me touch the liquor bottles yet.”

 “That’s fine, let him take a break from that detestable liquor,” Sugar commanded immediately, “If you black out, you get to spend the night here Clicks.”

 She giggled a bit as she filled a mug from the tap, “I’m glad you guys are here! I don’t know if I could handle Zen on my own.”

 Jingle~!

 “Do not fear, good people of Eros! We have arrived!”

 “Red! Cannon!”

 Sunny let out a sigh as she waved her hand wildly from the far side of the bar, “Boy am I glad to see you two! Red, could you get Sugar a glass of wine please?”

 Red saluted and jogged towards them, grabbing an apron to throw around his waist, “Where’s the boss? You haven’t been here alone the entire time, have you?”

 “Zen has locked himself in his room and is probably pouting in a corner.” Sugar mused as his fingers smoothed over the letter before him, “Let him brood, he is not in a good mood today. Red wine, if you will.”

 The other bartender squinted towards the office before giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. He knew better than to barge in when he was acting this way. Instead, he pulled out a bottle of wine to pop open the cork. The smooth red liquid poured from the neck into the glass he had placed in front of Sugar and with a deep bow he offered it, “Is this to your liking, sir?”

 Cannon smacked Red on the back of the head in attempts to stop his twin from his antics, “Could you be normal for one moment of your life and get me two whiskey sours?”

 “Coming right up!” Red whirled around and grabbed the bottle of bourbon with a wince, “Who broke into this Booker’s?”

 Clicks raised his hand, “Zen got it for me! That stuff really is pretty potent, eh?”

 “I’ll say!” He shuddered and tucked it away to grab a weaker whiskey, “Are we celebrating something that warrants that bourbon?”

 Sugar cleared his throat as he looked towards the man sitting next to him, “Not celebrating, but still not an appropriate use of that liquor.”

 “I’m just upset, Red. My sister is running off with her boyfriend to another country. And she says she’s pregnant! Then she has the nerve to not pick up my phone calls or reply to my texts! I don’t like her boyfriend, and I don’t like this situation!”

 “You don’t even know her boyfriend, Clicks. How can you disapprove?” Sugar scoffed, taking a sip of his wine.

 Clicks scowled towards him, “He’s taking her away from the family when she’s pregnant. They aren’t married! What if something happens? She’ll be in a foreign place with no one to help her!”

 “Maybe she trusts him enough? I’m sure she’ll call you when she’s ready. At least she sent you a letter! I bet she’ll contact you once she’s figured things out, it’s obvious that she trusts you.” Sunny replied, reaching over to pat his hand, “Have some faith!”

 He groaned as his head lowered to lay on the bar top, “I know...it doesn’t stop me from worrying.”

 “Even if she did pick up your phone calls, you’d worry. Like Sunny said, give her some time.” Sugar pat him on the back, “If she needs anything and is trying to keep things from your parents, you know I am more than willing to help.”

 Red came up behind Sunny and placed his arm around her shoulders, “Ah, I love the sense of family around here. How about a group hug, everyone?”

 They all stared at him with raised brows and with a low whistle he slipped away, “You guys are just no fun today~!”

 “Wait, Red! Let me have a glass of that wine Sugar is having! It looks rather lovely right now.” Clicks called out as the bartender walked towards a table to greet them.

 Red waved his hand towards Sunny, “Go ahead and pour him a glass, lady. You can handle that.”

 She nodded turned to grab a glass, “One wine, coming up!” As she began to pour it out into the glass Zen emerged from the office, shirt unbuttoned more than normal. His gaze fell on Sunny with bottle in hand and he stormed towards the bar, “Whoa, what are you doing?! Didn’t I tell you not to handle any bottles? You really are testing my patience today! I have half a mind to send you home!”

 Sugar turned his sharply towards Zen, “Don’t speak to her that way. She has done nothing to warrant your rage.”

 “Yeah, boss. Calm down. Red said it was okay, she’s just doing what she’s told,” Cannon said as he had approached the bar, “It’s just wine, anyway. Why are you so wound up?”

 “Oh, so everyone gets to undermine my authority now? Do I even own this bar anymore?!” Zen grabbed the waiter by the collar in attempts to pull him out of his way, “I’m really not having it tonight, Cannon!”

 Cannon slammed his serving tray down and shoved Zen away from him, “What the hell, Zen? Get your shit together.”

 Zen growled and pushed past him, hand reaching to grab the bottle of wine from Sunny’s grasp, “You want to be a bartender? Go ahead! Serve all the damn drinks you want!” He threw the bottle to the ground, red staining all over the girl and floor as the glass exploded in every direction.

 Sugar pushed his glass out of the way as he instinctively stood to lean forward, wrapping his arms around Sunny to lift her up and out from behind the bar. “Are you alright? Did any of the glass hit you?” He asked as he looked her over once she was safely on the ground away from Zen.

 “I-I think I’m fine…” She stammered out. She couldn’t help but be a bit shaky since she never expected Zen to react in that fashion.

 Cannon pulled his boss out by his arm to try to create even more distance, “Are you fucking kidding me, Zen?! You could have hurt her!” He sniffed a bit and dropped his hold, “You reek of booze, man. Are you drunk?”

 “Go to hell, Cannon! Who are you? Her fucking boyfriend? You’ve got some nerve to touch me!” Zen shouted before taking a swing at him with a closed fist. Fortunately the white-haired male’s perception was off due to a few too many drinks, giving Cannon ample space to dodge. Even under the influence, one solid hit would most likely knock the waiter out as Zen was much more muscular.

 “Big mistake, buddy. You really think I’m not itching for a fight?” The mint-eyed male smirked as his stance now went on the offensive, “How about you pick on someone that can take you on?”

 The taunts worked, Zen immediately lunging forward to jump onto Cannon. Red had already rushed from the pool tables in the back as he heard the shouting, ripping Sugar away from Sunny as he passed by, “Shit, grab Zen!”

 Red threw his arms around his brother to pull him back as Sugar managed to get a hold of Zen to slam him into the bar top.

 “Get off me, Red! I’ll kick his ass!” Cannon shouted as he tried to wriggle free from his twin’s grasp. Red laughed a bit as he tightened his grip, “Yeah, how about I don’t let him wipe the floor with you? Blood isn’t as easy to clean up as wine.”

 Meanwhile, Sugar was battling to keep the other hostile male from freeing his grasp. “You really think you can take me down?” Zen yelled at Cannon, “You’re fucking fired, how about that. Tough guy?!”

 “Enough!” Clicks shouted as he too stood from his seat. carefully sitting Sunny down so she could try to calm down before he walked over towards the others. He pointed at Cannon, and then pointed towards the restrooms, “Go get cleaned up, you have a busted lip.” He pointed towards Zen and then to the office, “You’re going to cool off, come with me.”

 Sugar was reluctant to let go but knowing that Zen wouldn’t dare attack their friend even in the most drunken of stupors he loosened his grip, allowing Clicks to drag the staggering man away.

 “And no one is fired!” Red called out, letting go of his brother once Zen was out of sight. Cannon clicked his tongue and stomped to the restroom.

 “This is a major problem.” Sugar muttered to himself as he returned to Sunny’s side, “Are you sure you’re okay? I can call an ambulance if you need it.”

 Her eyes snapped wide open as he made the suggestion, “I’m fine! Really! An Ambulance is a bit of overkill.”

 Concern riddled over his features as he placed a hand lightly on the back of her head, “If you start to feel any discomfort, please let me know.  I will take care of everything. I’m sorry you had to go through this, I didn’t think it would escalate in this manner. Red, could you get her water?”

 She shook her head vigorously, “No no! I don’t need water I just...hey Red, you think I can take the rest of the night off? I’m afraid I’ll be too distracted and be useless.”

 “Of course!” Red stepped over a bit of glass to pat her arm, “Call if you need anything, okay? Get some rest. If you need tomorrow off too just let me know.”

 Sunny sighed in relief and gave them both a smile, “Thanks for understanding! Oh, and could you thank Cannon for me? I appreciate him standing up for me. Have a good night!”

 

 

*****

 Jingle~!

 “Afternoon, everyone!”

 “Sunny!”

 She walked in with a bright smile the next day, walking over to stuff her purse beneath the bar and grabbed an apron, “How is everyone today?”

 “I feel like shit.” Cannon grumbled as he placed a few glasses of beer on a tray.

 “You look like shit, so don’t feel so bad!” Sunny grinned as her hand meticulously placed a notepad and pen into her pocket, “That busted lip of yours makes you almost seem intimidating though.”

 He scoffed, pushing himself off the bar top to walk over to her, “Hey, you really alright? I can’t believe he went off his rocker like that.”

 “How many times do I have to tell you all that i’m fine?” She flicked his forehead lightly, “But thanks for worrying.”

 “I’m just making sure that the person who’s supposed to be here on my days off can actually make it to work!” He huffed, arms crossing his chest, “By the way, the boss wants to talk to you, he’s in the office and sober. If you get scared, just shout out for me. I’ll come pummel him to the ground.”

 Her smile faded as she eyed the door to the room which was now closed, “Okay...I will.” She approached slowly, taking deep breaths to attempt to lower her anxiety. How would he act around her? She couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t scared after witnessing that wicked side of him the night before. Her fist knocked confidently a few times, only opening the door after hearing a faint voice calling out to enter. “Zen?” She looked around, seeing him sitting at the couch with sunglasses on, “You wanted to talk to me?”

 He got up quietly and stood in front of her, taking in a deep breath before pulling her into a tight embrace, “Princess...I’m so sorry. What I did was inexcusable. I could have injured you and I probably scared the shit out of you. I’m sorry...damnit. I’m sorry!” Zen continued to apologize, his voice faltering with every word. “I understand if you want to leave! I’ll pay you a bonus and everything. If you need help finding another job I’m sure Sugar can set something up at his company-”

 “I don’t want to leave.” Sunny said firmly, pulling him away to look into his eyes, “What the hell happened last night? Why did you act like that?”

 “I had a few too many drinks last night and I was already on edge.”

 “What could possibly have put you in that state of mind? You broke a bottle of wine at my feet!”

 “I said I was sorry!” He exasperated, sitting on the couch, “What do you want me to say?”

 “The truth!” She sat next to him and ripped his sunglasses off, eliciting a groan from the man as he squeezed his eyes shut. “A hangover? Alright, so let me get this straight. You got upset because I brought up your past, which reminded you of how alcohol destroyed what you loved. But you then proceeded to drink yourself stupid and fight your own employee in your bar. Does that make sense to you?”

 Zen laid his head back and let out a sigh, “Not a lot makes sense in my life, you know.”

 Sunny frowned slightly and reached her open palm to cup his cheek which caused his breath to hitch in his throat. His eyes fluttered open revealing not only his crimson eyes but the pink hues within the white from them being bloodshot. She forced his head to turn to look at her, a softness in her features, “Zen, most of the time life doesn’t make sense. We all have to deal with things as they come and make the best of what we have. I’m sorry for being insensitive about your past, but don’t let history repeat itself. You’re better than that.”

 He reached up and gently placed his hand on top of hers, staring intently into her eyes. A blush spread across her cheeks as he finally leaned in to hover his face dangerously close to hers. “Were you hurt yesterday?” He asked, voice soft. She shook her head whispering a ‘no’ while trying to control her racing heartbeat. He chuckled, “I’m glad…” he replied as he came close to her face. He stopped just short of her lips before bringing his head up to kiss her on the forehead, “Thank you for your kind words, Sunny. I won’t forget how understanding you have been. This won’t happen again, I promise.”

 Zen set her hand in her lap and stood up with an exaggerated stretch, “Let’s get back out there, yeah? We have a bar to run!”

 Sunny swallowed hard, standing up to follow, “R-Right! I’ll make a pot of coffee for you, it will help with your hangover.”

 He grinned as he opened the door for her, “Aren’t you just a doll?”


	6. Eros Ch. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

_Swinging in the backyard_  
Pull up in your fast car  
Whistling my name  
Open up a beer  
And you say, get over here  
And play a video game

_I’m in his favorite sun dress_  
Watching me get undressed  
Take that body downtown  
I say you the bestest  
Lean in for a big kiss  
Put his favorite perfume on  
Go play your video game

 

 

 

Red rolled his head around as he let out a loud yawn. His eyes blinked firmly a few times as the bottles of liquor fuzzed before him. He was tired as hell and could barely keep from falling into a short nap behind the bar.

 “Yo, sleeping beauty, my order? Hello?” Cannon smacked his brother a few times with his notepad, “Wake up, I don’t have all day.”

 Red recoiled as he felt the hits, grumbling as he finished up the drinks he had earlier started, “Cut me some slack, man. I’m running on three hours of sleep.”

 “Not my fault, you’re the one who stayed out all night after your shift. You should’ve thought about how tired you’d be before you went and had a late night rendezvous.”

 Zen slid a full shot glass towards Red, “Take that, it will help. I need you alert, it’s getting a bit busy.”

 In his dazed confusion he took the shot obediently, eyes widening as the liquor burned down his throat and into his stomach. “Damnit, Zen! What the hell did you give me?”

 “Just a bit of 151, it won’t hurt yah.”

 “You’re trying to kill me with that rubbing alcohol?” Red coughed out, “I’m sure as shit awake now, my life flashed before my eyes.” He finished Cannon’s order and placed it on the tray, rubbing at his chest, “You could have at least warned me.”

 Zen pat his back firmly a few times, “You would have objected if you knew what it was. Help me get these drinks for Sunny, she’s got a table of eight waiting.”

Jingle~!

 “There’s the man of the hour!”

 “Tom!”

 Red looked up from the beers he was filling up, smirking towards the man that walked in, “Fancy seeing you in here.”

 Tom. A squirrelly, lanky type with a head of shaggy brown hair that came to Eros often only to shoot the breeze with Red who was one of his best friends. They lived in the same neighborhood as kids and often got into trouble when they were together.

 “Hey Tom, how’s life in the fast lane?” Zen called out, eyes too busy mixing drinks to turn properly to address the man.

 “I dunno, got stuck on the on-ramp. I’ll let you know when the traffic let’s up.” Tom sat himself in front of Red and gave him a wide grin, “So that was fun yesterday, eh? We should go out more often, you’re always stuck at work.”

 “Yeah, being an adult with responsibilities sure is the pits. Why aren’t you at work? It’s still pretty early for you to be here.”

 Tom shrugged, “They think I’m in the bathroom. I’ll give it about half an hour before they start wondering where I am. That’s not important, though. That sassy blonde was asking me about you this morning. She sure was disappointed that you left with-”

 Red cleared his throat loudly, glaring at his friend, “Tom, how’s your girlfriend? Still out of town for college?”

 The brunette frowned, “How about a beer, bartender? Why are you being so sensitive?”

 “What I do in my spare time doesn’t have to be showcased here,” Red hissed, “Just keep things to yourself, alright?”

 “What did you do last night, Red? It must have been quite the party if you came to work so tired!” Zen poked into their conversation, casually pouring a few drinks for a fresh order, “You didn’t even invite me! Any pretty ladies?”

 Red groaned now that Zen had overheard, “We played video games all night. You know me, so nerdy.”

 Tom snickered as he took a sip, “Oh, we played alright…”

 “How about a round of shots on me?” Red called out as he tapped his hands loudly against the bar top, “But don’t let Zen pour them, he’ll knock you out until next week!”

 Zen let off a pout as he finally backed off, “Fine fine, sheesh. Don’t let your ol’ pal in on your fun.” His attention was stolen by a few ladies that had walked up to the bar, all thoughts of trying to find out what his employee had done the night prior flew out of his mind as he flashed them a smile, “Well hello~ What can I get you gorgeous women? A drink? A shot? Me?”

 The group giggled and one of them leaned forward as she looked him over, “Could we get a few martinis? We’re celebrating my birthday and having a girl’s night out.”

 His red eyes sparkled as she had given him quite the bit of attention, “Well happy birthday! Of course you can get some martinis! First round is on the house for the birthday girl.”

 “And next round is on me!” Tom interjected, smiling deviously at them.

 “The round of shots after that? You can take them off me. They’ll be free if any of you ladies can find my ticklish spot.” Zen countered, now feeling the need to exert a bit of dominance since Tom had slid his way into the exchange.

 “You boys are silly!” One of the other girls laughed, “We’ll be sitting at the table over there if you want to come join us.”

 Tom stood up and shot Zen a wink, “Don’t mind if I do. Put their drinks on my tab.”

 Zen scowled as they walked off towards the table knowing he was far too busy to join them, “You know, Red, your friend really kills my mood.”

 “Leave me out of this~” the other bartender sang out, “I want nothing to do with you two’s flirting battle. As you said before, we are getting pretty busy, let’s stay on top of things.”

Jingle~!

 “Hey Everyone!”

 “Duckie!”

 The blonde smiled and waved, making his way towards the bar before he heard a voice call to him, “Duckie! Kiddo! Come join us!” He whirled around to look at the summons and seeing Tom surrounded by multiple women he dashed to hide around the bar. “Damn! Why does that guy always try to round me up in his escapades! I thought he was out of town for work, Red?”

 Red slid a glass of beer towards him, “Yeah, he got back two days ago. He was going to call you last night but I told him you’d broken your phone. You’re welcome, by the way.”

 “Yeah, thanks for that! He keeps trying to set me up! What is with that guy?”

 “He wants everyone to have a good time, and he feels sorry for you. You’re a bit lame when it comes to getting dates.”

 “What!” Duckie exclaimed, “I do just fine on my own! In fact, I have a date this weekend!”

 “Study groups don’t count, bud.” Zen said as he placed some glasses in the sink to wash, “You gotta get ‘em one on one. You know, a nice dinner, maybe a movie. Why don’t you ever go out with…wait a minute!” he glared at Red, “You guys invite Duckie but you don’t invite me? What gives, man?”

 Red let out a sigh, “Look, I don’t go out, it’s Tom. If you went, you’d steal all of the attention and he wouldn’t be happy with that. Look at him now.” He nodded his head towards the table, “He’s probably pulling out every line in the book on those girls and if you were there they would be fawning all over you. Let him have this one, Zen. You get enough numbers already.”

 Cannon lazily came up and set his tray down at the bar top, “Speaking of which, another round of martinis for Tom’s table. They also asked when those body shots would be ready.”

 Zen quickly whipped up the drinks, adding a round of shots to the tray along with a salt shaker and some limes, “I’ll take these myself. Red, watch the bar for a few. If Tom wants a battle, then he’ll get one!”

 As the guys watched him walked towards the table, he placed the tray on to the side, “I heard you were requesting those shots?”

 Tom frowned but didn’t object as to not ruin the mood all around. He knew he had to pull his biggest tricks to take some of the attention off the other male that could woo a room just by flashing a smile. “Just remember what he said, ladies. You find the spot where he’s ticklish and they are free!”

 Zen bowed his head slightly, “Yes, I did promise that and I am a man of my word! So, who’s first? Who thinks they can find it? Just sprinkle the salt where you think it’ll make me hot!”

 Cannon scoffed as he went towards a table that had waved him over, “Does that shit work on anyone?”

 “You’d be surprised.” Red said flatly, “It’s gotta be his looks that make them forget he says the dumbest things sometimes.”

 “What’s going on over there?” Sunny piped up as she had approached the bar from the back area, “Some sort of special event?”

 “I think some girls are going to take body shots off Zen. That guy…he’s my hero.” Duckie sighed as he turned back around, “He could get a date whenever he wants.”

 She scrunched her nose in disapproval, “What a gross display. Are these things they really do in public? How much more macho can someone be?”

 “Me first, me first!” One of the girls squealed out. She motioned him to unbutton his shirt which he did, showcasing his amazing physique to the other girls. Poking at the skin right above his belt, he grinned mischievously, “My my, you are bold! I’m going to have to lay down for this.” He cleared the table off and draped himself a top it. He put a slice of lime in his mouth as the girl sprinkled salt on the area. She quickly took the shot and licked slowly along his skin before reaching her lips over to take the slice from him. He waggled his eyebrows at her making her spit the lime to the floor and pressing a kiss to his lips. The folks around the table cheered, Zen moved to stand up keeping his arms around the girl, “Close, but not the right place! Hey, you know what? I’ll change the rules. Find a ticklish spot on either me or Tom and the drinks are free! Who wants to give him a try?”

 Tom shot a surprised look towards Zen, “What? I mean, yeah!” The white-haired male leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Look, I don’t know what idea you have about me, but I’m not greedy. I’ll always make sure you have a good time too.” A smile spread across Tom’s face as he carefully nodded in response, “Ah, perhaps I did misjudge you. No hard feelings, eh? Ladies~!” He pulled up his shirt, “Zen has made a grave mistake since I am very ticklish so pick your place!”

 Sunny rolled her eyes as the acts continued, “How disgusting. It sometimes truly amazes me how barbaric humans can be.”

 “Jealous that you can’t lick Zen?” Cannon jeered towards the girl as he set up his tray, “I’m sure if you just asked nicely he’d be more than happy to oblige.”

 “That’s not it!” She cried, cheeks blushing furiously at the thought, “Some people just have no shame! I have half a mind to go over there and say something-”

 The presumed birthday girl came around from the restrooms and stopped at the bar, eyeing Red carefully, “Say, your friend Tom over there said you were really into playing video games. I like playing games too. Maybe you could come over to my place after you get out of work and…go a few rounds with me.”

 Sunny clapped her hands together and gave a big smile, “Now see! Here’s a woman with some sense! She doesn’t care for that ridiculousness that is happening over at the table and wants to share a common hobby with you. There is hope in this place!”

 The woman quirked a brow at her and nodded slowly, “Right…well…here’s my number…” She slid a piece of paper towards Red, “I know a few other people that might want to join in, if you’re interested.” Waving her fingers to him she walked back towards her friends, Red reached over and took the number to place in his pocket.

 “Really, Sunny? Did that go over your head?” Cannon let out incredulously.

 “Huh? What do you mean?”

 He walked behind the bar and leaned over to whisper a few things into her ear. She let out a gasp and glared at Red, “You too? I work with pigs! I’m going to check on my tables.”

 Red finished up the rush of orders that had come in staying mostly silent the entire time except for a soft chuckle in response to Sunny’s reaction. His brother stared at him, “So you’re really going to just keep quiet? Act like nothing happened? If they only knew-”

 “Knew that I liked to play video games a lot with friends? Yeah, they know that and that’s how they will continue to think. My personal affairs are not for public consumption, you all get enough of that with Zen. Order up, Cannon, you’ve got work to do.”

 Cannon sighed deeply and took his tray, “Whatever you say, bro.”

 Red pulled the paper out once everyone was distracted, looking at it then towards the girl at the table who managed to catch his gaze and shoot him a wink, “A few rounds indeed.”

 “Say Red,” Duckie waved him over, “Why don’t you ever play video games with me? I know you do it a lot and so do I. You never invite me!”

 “Well you see, Duckie,” Red walked over to refill the beer glass for the blonde, “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t actually play video games. Tom and I go scouting the town for people to bring home. Pretty ladies…handsome guys…you know. Anyone that wants a good time. So we head back to his place since he lives alone. Sure, we play games. Strip poker, naked twister. But by the end of the night it really just turns into a huge orgy! He wants to invite you for specific reasons, you know. Sometimes there are just too many ladies to handle and we could use some helping satisfying them all!”

 Duckie sat mouth gaping open as he listened. He finally shook his head and glared at Red, “Like hell you do that! I know your life isn’t that exciting! If you don’t want to play games with me you don’t have to make up an elaborate lie like that. Geez…”

 “You’re right, buddy, i’m sorry. We both know I’m not capable of anything like that. I’ll make you a deal! Next time I have an all-nighter with games you’ll be the first I call, okay?”

 Duckie huffed and nodded, “You better! Ugh…strip poker…orgies…you have a really wild imagination, you know that?”

 “Yeah…imagination…Cannon! Order up!”

 

**************

 

The next afternoon at Eros was forgiving as the customer flow was a bit slower than the day before. Red let out a loud yawn as he filled a glass with beer from the tap to pass to a patron down the end of the bar.

 Zen handed him a cup of coffee, “It has Bailey’s in it, just so you know.”

 “Funny that you mention what’s in it when it won’t kill me.”

 “Funny that you are, once again, tired out of your mind. You really should have joined Tom and I last night. Man…was it crazy!” Zen sipped from his own cup of coffee, “Did a new game come out or something? You’ve been staying up pretty late these past few nights.”

 Red hummed a bit as he drank, “Yeah, new game. Did you two have a good time?”

 “I’ll say! You know that fiery little lady that kissed me on the table? Turns out that’s not the only trick she had up her-”

 “I get it, I get it. No need for details.” Red groaned out, “I’ll just have to hear it again from Tom. Looks like you two get along now which is good. Maybe you both will stop competing.”

 Zen shrugged, “A little competition never hurt anyone, but overall I think we both know we are on the same team. Hey, weird thing. The girl who’s birthday it was disappeared after a while. I wonder where she went? She was pretty cute, I bet she is a great kisser.”

 “She is. And so is her boyfriend.”

 “Oh, she had a boyfriend? No wonder she really didn’t stick around.”

 Red nodded and watched his boss from the corner of his eye, waiting for the moment.

 “Wait, you know she’s a good kisser? You know her boyfriend is a good kisser?! Red, what the hell?” Zen sputtered, dribbling coffee down his chin.

 There was the moment.

 “Hmm? What was that?” Red smirked from behind his mug, “A brand new game, came out a few days ago. It’s been keeping me rather interested.”

 Zen slammed his mug on the bar top and towered over Red, “Alright, spill. What the hell were you up to last night?”

 Red pointed towards Zen’s shirt that had started to stain with coffee, “I think you’ve spilled enough for the both of us, boss.”

 “Damnit!” Zen exclaimed as he dabbed a towel along his chest, “I’m going to go change but when I get back you are telling me everything! I knew you weren’t holed up in your apartment all the time!”

 The other bartender removed his glasses from his face to wipe the lenses with his shirt, “Video games, boss!” He called out, “It’s just video games!” He laughed to himself, pulling out the piece of paper with the phone number from his pocket as soon as he placed his glasses back on, “Ah well, at least the ending was good.” He carefully tore it up, sprinkling the shreds into the trashcan before busying himself with a few drinks.

 “Hey Red!” Sunny called out as she leaned across the bar top waiting for him to fill up her serving tray, “I thought Zen gave everyone a nickname and is really adamant about only addressing them in that way.”

 “He does!” He replied, “At least to anyone he sees more than once. I thought he explained it to you?”

 She shrugged slightly, “He did, but you guys call your friend by his name. Why is he an exception?”

 “Who, Tom?” Red inquired, “That is his nickname.”

 “Sounds like a real name to me.”

 “Nah, he’s simply Tom.”

 Sunny squinted her eyes at him, “That just…doesn’t seem right. Everyone else has some weird name with an explanation! What’s the story behind Tom?”

 “No story.” He said plainly, “He’s just Tom.”

 “So it’s just…Tom? Your friend Tom?”

 “Yeah!”

 She rubbed at her temples with two fingers, “Why do I even continue to stay employed here.”

 “Because you have work to do. Order up!”


	7. Eros Ch. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

Eros was slower than normal this evening. Only a few customers other than the regulars had trickled in and out which was concerning as it was a Friday night. It had been like this for a week or so and it was worrying everyone save the owner.

 “Yo bro, can I go home? I’m tired and there’s no one here. Sunny can take care of this by herself.” Cannon had been doodling on his notepad for twenty minutes, only stopping to refill any beer mugs from the patrons at the bar top. “I feel like I’m losing precious brain cells by just standing around.”

 “What would you do if you went home? Waste brain cells watching TV? At least you’re getting paid here,” Red chimed in as he had set himself the task to shine every bottle of liquor, “You never know, a huge influx of people may come! Then what would Sunny do?”

 “She’d deal with it,” Cannon hissed, “Where is she anyway?”

 Red looked up and scanned the interior, “Not sure. I asked her to go find the supply order list but that was like twenty minutes ago.” He nodded towards the office, “Go check on her, Cannon. She may have been swallowed by the mess in there.”

 Cannon rolled his eyes but pushed off to walk towards the office. He swung the door open and stared at Sunny who had been rummaging through stacks, things seemingly in certain places. “What…are you doing?” He asked.

 Sunny jumped a bit at the voice, turning around to smile towards the man, “Oh, hey! Well, I had a hard time finding the supply list so I am going to clean his office! This must be so dangerous for him, who knows how many times he’s tripped!”

 He smirked a bit as he leaned against the door frame, “You just really want to get him mad again, don’t you? Are you a sucker for punishment? I don’t mind, I kinda like it. You could have just said so, I would have obliged.”

 Her cheeks flushed wildly causing her to turn back around, “N-no! It’s not like that! I just want to help him out! I’m going to label everything and get it off of the floor. He’ll be more calm if he’s in a clean office! I’ll just explain why I did it and he’ll understand.”

 Cannon shrugged as he let the door close, “Whatever you say, Sunny. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. He’s going to be pissed.” Leaving her pouting in the room he walked back to the bar top to grab his notepad as a couple had stepped inside, “She’s cleaning his office, Red. Prepare for maximum rage when he gets back.”

 “He won’t yell at her, will he?” Duckie asked as Cannon walked off, “Sunny is so nice, how could anyone get mad at her?”

 Red cleared his throat as he refilled the blonde’s beer glass, “Everyone has their limits, even the great Zen.”

 Duckie shrugged and took the now full glass, tapping his fingers along the surface, “I guess. Hey, it has been a bit slow in here these past few weeks. Isn’t Sugar going to be on his case about that? Zen has been so cool to all of us, we should try to find a way to get more people in.”

 “I think the problem is the new bar that opened down the street. It’s supposedly very classy. My assistant manager went with her fiance and told me the drink prices were ridiculous but they had entertainment so it ended up being fun. We’d have to compete with that place! Duckie, we can’t let them win!” Joe chattered excitedly, a slight competitive side of her emerging, “Zen has the best bar in town!”

 “Yes! Let’s give back to him! We can’t let him lose the bar this way!” Duckie was now riled up, pulling out a notebook from his backpack along with a pen, “So, ideas? What could we do here to bring people back?”

 Red leaned against the bar top as he listened to the two go on, “Guys, Zen isn’t going to lose the bar. We’ve had slow times before and we have come out just fine. New bars come and go and even if people want to try something new they always come back.”

 “That might be true, but it wouldn’t hurt to get more people in! The more money you guys make, the faster he can pay Sugar back and be fully in charge of this place. Any way, it would be fun to have a few events here, change things up a bit!” Joe said as she pulled her phone out, “We have specials at my coffee shop all the time so people don’t get bored going there and they always do well.”

 “How about, a karaoke night?” Duckie suggested, “Or a costume party! Oh, what about a ladies night where they wrestle in jello? Winner gets to go out on a date with Zen?”

 “No.” Both Red and Joe replied in unison to his last suggestion. “This isn’t a fraternity house, man. We can’t have stuff like that in here!” Red chided him, “Just imagine the disaster of Zen just joining the girls in that jello instead. It would become a mad house!”

 Duckie shrugged in disappointment, “I was just making suggestions. I don’t see you coming up with anything!”

 “How about we try to find some live music?” Jaehee interjected,  “Maybe we could have it twice a month, or weekly. We had a local college group play at the coffee shop once and it brought a lot of customers. I’m sure that’s something Zen would enjoy since he loves music.”

 “Great idea!” Duckie exclaimed, “That would bring people in! What if we could get someone famous? So many people would be in here!”

 Jingle~!

 “Hello Everyone.”

 “Sugar! Clicks!”

Clicks smiled and waved towards the few, walking towards the bar top, “Slow night, Red?”

 “I like to call them relaxing nights. What can I get you, bud?” Red immediately pulled at a wine glass to begin filling it, placing it in front of the stool Sugar normally sat at, “The usual?”

 “Scotch on the rocks, of course. Relaxing indeed.” Clicks plopped onto the barstool next to Sugar whom automatically sat in front of the wine. “Will it be one of those weekends?”

 “It’s been like this for a few weeks, what have you all been doing to drive customers away? I’m slightly displeased.” Sugar mused as he swirled his drink around, taking a sip, “If I didn’t know any better I’d be concerned since surely the new bar down the street has been pulling customers from here.”

 “Don’t worry, Sugar! We are thinking of ways to get people back in! We’re going to find a live band to play so people want to come here instead!” Duckie announced proudly.

 The raven-haired man stared in his direction, “You don’t even work here, why would you put in the effort?”

 Duckie frowned slightly, “Hey, I want to help! I don’t have to be employed to do that. I just want to be nice!”

 Clicks laughed a bit, “That’s awfully kind of you, and I think having live music would be wonderful. Have anyone in mind?”

 Duckie looked down as he doodled on the page, “No…I could ask around campus and see if any bands are free. I don’t really know anyone though…maybe it could be an open mic night? Where’s Sunny, she normally has good ideas. She’s on some sort of committee at school that arranges events for the students.”

 Red thumbed towards the office, “Apparently she’s cleaning the place up. I would go warn her but she already glossed over Cannon’s words.”

 Sugar looked over towards the room, taking his glass to walk over, “I’ll make sure she isn’t doing anything to upset Zen.” Once he got to the door he opened it carefully, seeing Sunny sitting on the floor amongst papers and folders. She had been humming to herself slightly off-tune which normally would make him shudder but coming from her it was endearing. He entered and closed the door behind him before sitting on the couch. She still hadn’t noticed him as her attention was fully on sifting through papers. He watched every movement she made: a finger passing over the dates, putting pages neatly in their stacks and adjusting the edges every time, saying words here and there under her breath. “You’d do well working at my company with your attention to detail.”

 Sunny yelped as a flurry of papers sprinkled into the air, her head turning sharply towards the voice, “Sugar! Goodness, you scared me! When did you come in?”

 “A few moments ago. You seemed so focused on your work I didn’t want to disturb you. I apologize for the fright.”

 She took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself, reaching around to collect the mess she had made, “It’s alright, I wouldn’t mind the company as long as you don’t lecture me for cleaning.”

 Sugar sat back to relax as he continued to watch her, “The only reason I would have a problem with this is if Zen asked you to clean his office. I’ve been harping him to do it for so long but he’s been lazy. If you are doing it on your own volition then I have no objections.”

 Sunny smiled at him, “He didn’t ask me to do it, don’t worry! I just want to do something nice for him. He’s got so much stuff in here and I’m sure he’ll appreciate things being in order.” She pulled a box from one of the corners to slide over towards his legs, “Hey, you’ve known Zen for a long time, right? I found these things stashed away under a few things. Do you know what this is?”

 He looked towards the pile, eyes darting around the words on the pages, “Hmm.” His free hand reached to pull out the newspaper article on top, frowning deeply at its contents, “You should just leave this alone. He’s had things in here for months, perhaps a year. They hold no importance except for using them to safely pack glass bottles.”

 “I thought the same thing since he has a lot of newspaper lying about but these are all cut out specifically about this music group. And that one!” She pointed to what was in his hands, “That’s from two weeks ago! It’s no big deal if he just really likes this band. I was just wondering. Also,” Her hands pulled at a medium-sized envelope, “He has a lot of pictures of the lead singer. Isn’t that odd?”

 Sugar pursed his lips and took the envelope from her, placing everything back in the box, “Sunny, I honestly advise you just tape this box up and leave it be. He has a right to some privacy even if he can be a bit of a twit about things.”

 Sunny let out a huff, “Why does everyone keep things from me? Anytime I ask about him it’s either ‘oh ask him yourself’ or ‘we don’t talk about that’. And he wonders why I can be insensitive or say things that offend him! I’m constantly walking on eggshells!”

 “Don’t talk about his past unless he brings it up. That’s really the only thing that may send him spiralling. He’s had a lot happen to him and he still doesn’t know how to deal with it. Everything else is fair game even if he pouts. He’s not that terrible of a person, he just doesn’t know how to deal with certain emotions.”

 She shrugged, placing the box to the side, “I wish he would talk to me! I am going to school to help people, you know. I could help him sort things out or give him resources to where he could-”

 Sugar cleared his throat to interrupt, “I strongly advise you, once more, to just drop it. I think it’s a lovely idea that you want to help him but we are already doing what we can to sort things out. I’ll leave you to your work, then. You are doing a fine job.” He stood up as he took the last drink from his glass but before he could walk away he felt her hand grasp at his pant leg. His head turned downwards to take a glance at her, swallowing thickly as he noticed how her big brown eyes sparkled as she stared at him. “Yes?”

 “You’re doing what you can? So even though all you do is bicker with Zen you still help him? That’s fairly noble of you.”

 He shifted slightly, bending forward to place a hand on top of hers, “Just because we are constantly at odds now doesn’t mean we’ve always been like this. He’s been a friend of mine for a long time-”

 “You guys are friends?” She exclaimed, “I would have never guessed, honestly. He gets so irritated when you are around and goes out of his way to pester you!”

 “Of course he does, and I go out of my way to return the sentiment. That’s just how we interact. Is it really that odd?”

 Sunny took his hand as she continued to stare at him, “It’s not that! It’s just fascinating! Would you mind if I studied you two? I think it would be great experience to see how your personalities manage to coexist!”

 Sugar gently took her hand away and set it in her lap with a deep chuckle, “I don’t mind if you observe me and I’m sure Zen would relish in the attention. Just be careful of how you go about it. If he figures out you are looking at him from that perspective he may get upset.”

 She nodded slowly as she went back to digging through pages, “I’ll be careful, thanks Sugar. And don’t worry! I’ll do whatever it takes to get him to open up. Although he kind of flew off the handle that one night I understand if he has things he’s dealing with. I just wish I knew what it was.”

 “You’ll find out soon enough if I can a few things off,” He opened the door to exit the office, “Good luck in this mess.” Before she could ask anymore questions he left, walking back towards the bar to sit next to Clicks once more.

 Clicks nudged him slightly as Sugar had occupied his spot once more, “Did you talk to her?”

 “Yes, and I do believe there is an understanding. She is to simply organize his office and that’s it. I’ll deal with the backlash when Zen sees it, I know he will be frazzled.”

 Red instinctively grabbed a wine bottle to refill Sugar’s now empty glass, “Yeah, thankfully he has the weekend off so she at least has a few days to survive.”

 Sugar nodded as his drink was replenished, “As long as she doesn’t question the things that are in there, he will get over it. He’ll appreciate it once he realizes it’s one last thing for me to nag him about.”

 “He’ll be fine, I’ll speak with him as well. She is doing it out of the kindness of her heart and he’ll understand that.” Clicks mused as he finished off the drink he’d been nursing the entire time, “Ah, Sugar. While you were gone they were trying to figure out who to invite to perform at the bar. You have a lot of connections. Have any recommendations in mind?”

 “I do, actually,” Sugar replied as he focused his gaze on the wine glass, “I will make a few phone calls and see what I can do. If anyone is to perform here I would only want the best. Amateur acts won’t do if this place is to compete with the new bar. When will Zen be back?”

 Red chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought on the question, ‘Monday. You know he can’t stand being away from this place for very long. Even three days makes him anxious.”

 The raven-haired man nodded as he now scrolled through his phone, “That gives me very little time. If you will excuse me.” He stood up again and walked to a more secluded area of the bar, sitting at a vacant table as he dialed a number. “Yes, hello? Ah, I’m glad you picked up. Sorry if I’m disturbing you, I’m not actually sure where you are at the moment and if the time zones are…oh, that’s good to hear that you have made it back into the country safely. I had two questions for you if you would entertain me for a few minutes.”

 His hand carefully ran over the glass of wine, the expression on his face softening towards whatever voice was coming through the other line, “I saw a few newspaper articles about this rumor…they aren’t true? Fantastic. Hmm?…No no, I wouldn’t be disappointed if they were true. In fact, I would be happy for you. This brings me to my second question. How would you feel about performing at Eros?…Yes, Zen is still the owner…No this is my idea.”

 He took a sip as he listened, his head nodding as if the person he was speaking with could see his movements, “I understand your concerns but I would like to ask you this as a personal favor. I’m worried…it’s nothing serious but I’d like to stop anything from getting out of hand. Just say yes and we can talk about the details later…you will? I appreciate it greatly. I’ll call you tomorrow morning to speak more candidly, I am not currently at my office. Yes of course, thank you. Sleep well, it’s good to hear from you again.”

 Sugar returned to his spot, this time relaxing into his seat for the first time that evening, “Duckie, don’t worry about the band, I’ve taken care of it.”

 Duckie perked suddenly with a big grin, “Really?! Wow, thanks Sugar! If it’s someone you found then they will definitely be good and will bring in a lot of people! Zen will be so happy!”

 “I wouldn’t exactly say he will be thrilled, but he’ll deal with it.” Sugar smiled a bit to himself, proud of what plan he had in his mind, “I’m working out the deal tomorrow morning as I will personally take care of their payment for performing. Once things are set I will let you know the date.”

 Clicks turned his head to look at his friend, his brow furrowed as he noticed the cheeky look on his face, “What are you up to, Sugar? That look you have is suggesting something borderline evil.”

 “Don’t worry, you’ll approve. Once I smooth things out I’ll let you know.” Sugar spoke confidently as he reached into his jacket pocket, throwing a quarter towards Duckie, “Go put something good on, Duckie. I’m in a surprisingly good mood.”


	8. Eros Ch. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

“RED!” **  
**

Zen’s cry of outrage echoed through the bar causing his fellow bartender to flinch. Cannon, on the other hand, continued his opening duties with a cheerful whistle.  They both knew this reaction was coming after Sunny had set herself to tidy up the office during his weekend off but Red still wasn’t ready to give any sort of explanation to his superior.

“Yeah, coming boss!” Red scurried towards the office trying to avoid the inevitable ‘I told you so’ look his brother would undoubtedly give him. He let out a big breath and stepped in with a smile, “What’s up, Zen? Is something wrong?”

Zen stood in the middle of the room, floor completely cleared up, and waved his arms around, “What the hell happened in here?”

Red looked around nodding his head, “Well, it looks pretty clean in here! First time since you hired me. Looks good!”

“Who did this? I can’t find anything!”

“Well, looks like things are labeled. How hard would it be to find stuff?”

“That’s not the point!” Zen growled, “Who is responsible? Was this Sugar? Did he decide to clean this place up while I was gone? I’m going to kill him. Only he would have such an intricate filing system.”

Red bit his bottom lip. He didn’t want to rat out Sunny but he really wasn’t ready to suffer the consequences of lying. “Sugar would do something like this…but it wasn’t him. Who else works here that would dare tread into your space?”

Zen’s expression fell, turning around to sit at his desk, “As soon as Sunny gets in, tell her to come see me.”

“Of course, boss.” He left quickly and after the door closed behind him he heaved a sigh,  “This isn’t good…”

“I told her he wasn’t going to be happy,” Cannon called out, “But did she listen? Nope.”

“Oh shush. He’s sober so he may just lecture her. He’s mad but he won’t go overboard, especially after that one time.”

“All I know is, if he gets too rowdy I’m laying him flat.”

 

Jingle~!

“Hey guys!”

 

Sunny walked in a few minutes before they officially opened for the afternoon, a sense of pride riding on her shoulders, “This is going to be a great week, I can feel it!”

Cannon scoffed, “I wouldn’t put money on that, lady. You may have bitten off more than you can chew.”

She stashed her purse away under the bar, mostly ignoring his negative talk, “You think what you’d like but I have a great feeling about today especially!”

“Are you sure it’s a great feeling? Boss wants to see you in his office and he didn’t seem too pleased. I hope you are ready for a conversation.” Red spoke as he pointed to the back, “Good luck, it was nice knowing you.”

Sunny rolled her eyes, “Once I explain everything he will be just fine! Don’t worry about me. If anything I believe he is a man of reason.”

“Reason? Sure. Reason enough to be a drama queen. Hey, if he gets too loud just give a shout and we’ll come hold him down,” Cannon jeered, “We’ve dealt with him long enough to know his fits.”

She stuck her tongue out towards Cannon before skipping towards the office, “We’ll be best of friends once I’m done with him!” Opening the door she smiled as she looked around like a proud parent, “You wished to speak with me, Zen?”

“You seem awfully cheery today.” He said flatly, lit cigarette in one hand and a glass of vodka in the other. A freshly opened bottle of liquor sat on the now clear desk as well. “Have a fruitful weekend?”

“You’re welcome, by the way, for cleaning up. I managed to get most of the tobacco sent from the room but,” She scrunched her nose at his smoking, “I see you want to continue with the smell.”

“I liked the smell.”

“It was unbearable.” She retorted. “Let me explain how this all works. In the top drawer of your filing cabinet are important documents such as employee applications, supply order lists, tax information. You know, things that you will want to find quickly.” Walking around him she opened things as she explained, “The second drawer are receipts from suppliers and other business dealings. Third drawer are papers that I found miscellaneous but may be of importance. You may want to run through those yourself and put them in the correct place. Of course, everything is alphabetized first, then sorted by date.”

Zen sat quietly, sipping at his glass periodically as she continued to talk. She was far too busy going over her system to notice how tightly he had been balling up his fist between drinks.

Sunny slipped to the other side towards his bookshelf, “Now, I alphabetized all of the books on the shelf and moved things around so they look a bit more uniform. This little jar with papers in it…I thought about throwing it away but I wasn’t sure if these were important numbers for business.”

His crimson eyes immediately shot upwards to look at her, “You didn’t throw them away? Good. At least you aren’t that stupid.”

She huffed slightly as she whirled around, “I didn’t throw anything away! I should have, as you have a lot of junk in here. I’ll leave that job to you, though.”

“You should have left the entire clean up to me.” He let out in a low tone, still staring at the girl, “I didn’t ask you to do this. If Sugar asked you then I will speak with him personally and all is forgiven.”

“Why does everyone think I did this because someone asked? I wanted to help! You work so hard here at the bar and I wanted to do something nice for you. I’m sure being surrounded by a huge mess doesn’t help with your mood swings.”

He blinked slowly a few times towards her words, fighting with every piece of him not to yell, “Mood swings? Sunny, I appreciate your efforts and I’m sure Sugar will be satisfied that this place is finally in order. Now please leave me be. I will be out momentarily.”

Sunny pursed her lips and nodded but before she could leave she couldn’t help but speak out, “I know you are upset but it will pass and you will like how the place looks. There is a calming aura to a clean room.”

“In time, I’m sure I’ll adjust.”

She nodded and turned around to leave but once again, before she stepped out she began to speak, “I had one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

Zen shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath and slowly exhaling, “What is it?”

Sticking the tip of her finger in her mouth as she thought of how to word her next few sentences, she walked over to a few boxes in the corner of the room, “I really want you to trust me and be able to talk to me about things. If you’ve gone through some rough patches then I understand how you can be so sensitive about things. I want to change our relationship! I want to be there for you!” She sat on the floor and gave him a big smile, “Let’s be good friends! We can talk about anything! There are a few things I wanted to ask about. Things I found while cleaning. Come on, you can tell me! Who’s that girl you have a lot of articles and pictures of? Do you have a crush on her? Oh, are you stalking her? I won’t tell~” Sunny teased in a light-hearted manner.

His eyes immediately snap open and he smashed the cigarette into the ashtray. The glare that he gave her sent shivers down her spine as he loomed over the desk, “Where are they? What did you do with them?”

Sunny swallowed thickly, hands reaching for the box where she had compiled all of the items pertaining to the woman she spoke of, “I put them all in this box, along with the envelope with pictures-”

Zen stormed around the desk and snatched the box from her grips, his tall form towering over her, “Get the hell out and never touch my things ever again. You hear me?”

Her limbs trembled momentarily as her first reaction was to be terrified of him coming towards her so suddenly, but that quickly dissipated and she grew angry herself, “You know what, Zen? How about you just tell me why you’re so mad instead of trying to intimidate me? Do you really think it’s attractive to be such an asshole? Or perhaps you feel it necessary since I don’t fall for your stupid charm? You think you’ll be able to form any sort of lasting relationships with that attitude of yours?” She puffed her chest out a bit to attempt some sort of confidence, “I bet whoever that woman is would leave you standing on the street if you came at her the way you do to me. Hell, she’d probably run for the hills if you got drunk and yelled at her like that one time with me! Ever think of that, Zen?”

The sides of his mouth tugged upwards to an odd smile. He brought his hand up to his face, covering it slightly as his shoulders shook. She heard soft chuckles that escalated into a full blown maniacal laugh. “What do you know about anything? You think you can figure people out that easy? I have one thing to say to that.” He stopped laughing and threw the box to the far wall. It’s contents flew everywhere as the carton burst upon impact. “Fuck you, Sunny! You don’t know a damned thing! You think you can waltz in here and just fix everything? Is that what they teach you in school? Well here’s a real life lesson.  That’s all bullshit!”

She back up into the couch, eyes wide as he began to tear any pages that had floated near him, “Is this what concerns you so much. Sunny? Let me just get rid of them all then you won’t have to ask anymore questions! Out of sight, out of mind!”

His hands started trembling as he continued his destruction and subsequently his tirade, “You were right about one thing, though! She did run for the hills. This woman that I stalk. This woman you think I have a crush on…she didn’t much like me getting drunk and yelling at her either, so she left me. Does that make you happy, Sunny? Does it make you happy to know?!”

Sunny sat speechless as her chest tightened. Her eyes wandered towards the article that had landed near her feet to which the headline read something along the lines of that woman possibly being in a relationship with some other singer. “Oh Zen…” She exhaled softly. Is that what had been on his mind? Was he still pining for this old flame?

Zen slowed his movements and looked down at the floor with defeat plastered on his face, “Please just leave me alone, Sunny. I made a mess of this office after you just cleaned it, let me at least fix it in peace.”

She slowly crawled closer looking up to him. Her hand reached out to touch his leg as she noticed the glossiness of his eyes and the deep furrow of his brow, an expression of pain and sadness that she had seen many times before in those that had lost something dear to them. Getting to her feet she instead put her hands on his cheeks to force him to look at her, “You think I can leave you alone when I know you feel like this?”

He looked over towards her as she moved his face, “I don’t feel anything. Just go.”

A softened smile spread across her lips before she reached up on her tiptoes to press a long kiss against his mouth. Zen froze in place as he felt her against him, not sure at first how to react but soon gave into the warmth that struck his entire body. Instinctively his arms wrapped around her waist to pull her in closer forgetting everything that had made him upset in the first place.

Sunny pushed him away quickly, “Wait, this is wrong.”

“If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.” He moved to pull her in once more only stopped by her hands waving at him, “No no no. Now Zen, this is a very delicate situation. We were caught up in emotions!”

“Yes, yes we were! We still are!” At his second attempt to go in for more of her kisses she turned around to tap a finger along her chin, “Now hold on, let’s think logically about this. You are upset about your previous girlfriend and I was caught up in how I wanted to make you feel better.”

Zen hopped around her desperately, “Yes, and it worked! I’m much better! I’m not even mad anymore, see?” He gave her a big smile, “You kissing me made me very happy!”

She let out a sigh, “There’s only one problem with this.”

“No, princess, there is nothing wrong! Come on!” He whined a bit as he was finally able to catch her waist to turn her around. She finally turned around and shook her head, “No, there is definitely something wrong. I just didn’t feel anything when I kissed you. I thought I would, but I think I was just swept up along with your emotions.”

He dropped his hands from her waist, staring at her in disbelief, “You kissed me because you felt sorry for me?”

“It’s not that!” She replied hurriedly, “I thought I felt some sort of romantic attraction to you but I guess I mistook that for sympathy pain.”

Zen took a few steps back as his face flushed a deep shade of red. If it was embarrassment or fury was a mystery. “Get out. Now. I don’t need your or anyone else’s pity affections.”

She bit her lip and attempted to get closer to him, “It’s not like that-”

“GET OUT!” he roared, the girl letting out a yelp and rushing out of his office.

As she slammed the door closed behind her Cannon came to stand in front of her, “Do I need to kick his ass? I heard him yelling.”

Sunny shook her head slowly, “No, that was definitely my fault. I think I really messed up this time.”

He took her to by the shoulders and led her towards the bar, “It’s okay, he’s been super sensitive lately. I’m sure if someone sneezed the wrong way he would get his panties in a bunch.”

 

Jingle~!

“Afternoon, everyone.”

“Sugar!”

 

He made his way to the bartop as Red set a glass of wine out for him, “Thank you, Red. Where’s Zen? Shouldn’t he be back already?”

Sunny cleared her throat as she poured a few beers from the tap, “He’s in his office, and I may have upset him quite a bit.”

Sugar raised a brow as he took a sip of the wine, “Oh? He wasn’t happy about the clean up? I’ll go talk to him in a moment and calm him down. On a brighter note, I only have the payment to be cleared and you all have a band to play. I set them up for Saturday night so be sure to be on your best behavior, all of you.”

“That’s great, Sugar! Who is it, anyway?” Red asked, leaning against the counter.

“I’m not at liberty to say just yet but I assure you they are wonderful. It will bring a good amount of people in and if all goes well I can try to set up a regular schedule for them to play at least once a month.”

Red patted Sugar a few times on the shoulder, “That’s our man, eh? You sure do deliver!”

Sugar frowned a bit, “Of course I deliver. I won’t have terrible live music in this place. At least not while I still have a lot invested.”

Cannon snickered as he passed by, “I can practically smell the money falling out of his pockets.”

The raven-haired man looked down at his trousers, “Oh my, is my wallet not secured?”

Sunny slid next to Sugar to whisper in his ear, “So, you know how you told me I shouldn’t mention some things to Zen? Well I kind of did and I think I really drew out something pretty nasty.”

Sugar raised a brow and looked towards the office, “Ah, well I have far more damage control to attend to. If you will excuse me. Oh, Sunny,” He spoke towards her, “I would avoid him at all costs for a few days. Be sure to just do your job and stay out of his way.”

He made his way to the room, knocking a few times on the door. He heard a firm ‘go away’ from inside and opened the door anyway, “Are you brooding in here now? Oh, what a shame. You’ve already made a mess of the place.”

Zen looked up in annoyance at the sound of the voice. He had lit another cigarette and was now drinking straight from the vodka bottle, “What do you want? Here to give me a hard time too?”

“On the contrary, I was coming to see if you were okay.” Sugar closed the door behind him and sat himself on the couch, adjusting his suit jacket careful not to spill his wine, “I heard you had a rough start.”

“You didn’t stop her, Sugar. You know I don’t like my things touched.”

“Why would I stop her? This place needed to be organized and she was simply doing you a favor out of the kindness of her heart.”

“You know what I mean, Sugar. You didn’t tell her to leave certain things alone.” Zen narrowed his gaze towards the other man, “You could have at least done me that one favor.”

Sugar let out a sigh, “I advised her to not bring it up. If she did it was on her own judgement.” He shifted himself to rest an ankle on the opposite knee, “You’re still hung up on her and you only have yourself to blame.”

“Oh get off your high-horse. I don’t need your shit too.” Zen took a long swig of the bottle. Sugar frowned and stood up to walk over to him, ripping the bottle from his hand, “This won’t make any of it go away, and you know it. What’s your problem? May I remind you that it’s been two years since you’ve spoken to her because you chose to ignore her. Still regretting your decisions, I see.”

Zen scoffed and grabbed a photo of the woman, holding his cigarette near it, “You’re right. It is my fault and I should let everything burn.” He took a long drag and blew the smoke out through his nose before holding the lit end to the corner of the picture to let it light on fire, “Cheers, eh?” He threw the burning photo into the ashtray, watching it disintegrate to a pile of ashes, “Can I finally be left alone now?”

Sugar closed his eyes and shook his head, “Fine, if that’s what you wish. I’ll be out at the bar if you need me.”

Zen waved Sugar off and as soon as he left pulled a bottle of whiskey from his desk drawer as the vodka was taken from the room. “I don’t need anyone,” He muttered to himself as he took a drink. Leaning back in the chair he stared at the ceiling, a mixture of smoke from the cigarette and the now burnt picture danced around him. He could hear the sound of the jukebox outside and the laughs from what he assumed were Red’s timely jokes. He closed his eyes and took another long drag, “Damn, I wish you were here right now though.”


	9. Eros Ch. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

_Sometimes a man gets carried away, when he feels like he should be having his fun_  
much too blind to see the damage he’s done  
Sometimes a man must awake to find that really, he has no one  
  
So I’ll wait for you….. and I’ll burn  
Will i ever see your sweet return  
Oh will I ever learn  
  
Oh lover, you should’ve come over  
‘cause it’s not too late 

_[OH LOVER YOU SHOULD HAVE COME OVER - JEFF BUCKLEY](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhXe1jpHPnUs&t=NzQ5OGM5OWNiYzMyMWNjNzYzMDI1ZGRhMGY0MTQwY2YxNGQxNzg5MixIZ1ptSXBSRQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AY7P1rqnUGwQTAboTCD8hcg&p=https%3A%2F%2Ffeelsgood-anon.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F163295976573%2Feros-bar-au-chapter-9&m=0) _

 

 

“Not there, Cannon. It’s far too close to the stage. You’ll get in the way if you take drink orders. Everyone must be able to see clearly from wherever they sit.” Sugar had come in thirty minutes before the bar opened to make sure the place was to his liking for the show that night. Saturday had rolled around and he had yet to reveal who was playing but this didn’t phase the man as he barked orders to everyone.

Zen had conveniently made himself sparse to the point of being late to work as he didn’t want to deal with whatever Sugar had been planning. The idea that things were being done behind his back - or at least, that’s how he saw it - didn’t make him all that happy. He didn’t even know who was invited to play and he made a point to not ask out of sheer pettiness. Tonight the bar wasn’t under his care and he decided to show up whenever he felt like it.

This didn’t matter to Sugar one bit. In fact, he was happy that Zen wasn’t in the way of setting things up. He was also happy that things wouldn’t stir up as Sunny had volunteered to help in whatever way she could which would definitely rub the bartender the wrong way.

“This is quite the menu, Sugar! You have a lot of fancy drinks on here,” Sunny chattered as she studied it a bit more, “You really went all out for this! I’m impressed!”

Sugar sauntered over towards her with an amused smile, “The type of patrons that will come with this act will expect a bit more finesse. This place has never been a shabby tavern and it’s time people remember that it’s just as classy as that silly bar down the street. They may have mundane entertainment but we bring superb service along with top-notch acts.”

“I’m not wearing that stupid outfit, Sugar. I’m no butler, and I’m definitely not someone’s slave.” Cannon hissed as he finished moving around furniture.

“Everything looks great, though! I’m excited for tonight. We’ll have to work extra hard to keep up with the tables!” Sunny said cheerfully towards the other waiter, “And perhaps you should smile a bit more!”

“No.” Cannon responded flatly, “I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not. If they want to come here, they have to learn how to deal with how I am.”

“Perhaps you should think about being a bit more about customer service, Cannon. You may get better tips if you were friendlier.” Sugar walked behind the bar to start setting up more of the fancy glasses, “People appreciate a stunning smile. Take Sunny, for example. Customers feel welcomed and at ease when she approaches them.”

“I get all my drink orders right and get it to them quickly. My tips are just fine.” Cannon growled, “She still messes up and gets sympathy tips for being cute.”

“You think I’m cute?” Sunny beamed proudly, “You two are just giving me so many compliments! I appreciate it. I’ve been messing up a lot lately and I’ve been pretty down about it. Not just with drink orders. I still feel really bad about what happened with Zen.”

Sugar waved his hand, “Don’t worry about him. He’s just gloomy because someone finally challenged his ego.”

“No…I mean, I did something really bad.” Sunny squirmed a bit, “You see, I kind of-”

“What happened in the past should stay in the past. No use in dwelling on it.” Sugar cut her off. He wasn’t too interested in what type of argument they had as he was well aware what type of things would have been brought up to anger Zen so much, “I just hope that in the future you will take my warnings with more consideration. I have known him far too long to not know how he will react to certain things.”

She looked down at the menu in her hand as her fingers fiddled with the edges, “I suppose I should. But it still doesn’t change the fact that I think I can help him as well. I’ll take your words a bit more seriously, I just have to be a bit more careful how I approach him.”

Cannon rolled his eyes, “Or you could just drop the savior routine and listen when we say to back off. You’ve seen for yourself how quickly he can shift from being the most thoughtful person to the biggest asshole.”

“But I can change that! I know I can!’ She declared, “I just need a bit more time!”

“Do as you wish, but there will be a point where we will have to back away and let you suffer the consequences on your own. I have no qualms with defending you but if you insist on badgering him there is only so much I can do to stop him from overreacting. Like I said before, he has the right to his own privacy and if that is continuously invaded I will have to side with him eventually.” Sugar sipped from his wine, “There is a time and a place to help, but there is also a time and a place to just stop.”

Sunny let out a huff, “Yeah, I get that now. But it doesn’t mean i’m going to just drop it. He obviously needs someone to talk to about things or else he wouldn’t be in the situation he’s in!”

“Just let it go,” Cannon sighed, “He’s been relatively fine save a few isolated incidents but when you got here that all went down the shoot so maybe you should back off.”

“Hey! It’s not me that caused it! I saw the articles he keeps stashed away! I know he’s upset about-”

“Silence, Sunny. I’m going to have to stop you there. I understand that you want to help but I won’t stand by while you air out his issues to whomever listens. His privacy, respect it.” Sugar reprimanded a bit harsher than normal.

Her nostrils flared as he had attempted to shut her down, “How dare you! I am no servant of yours to quiet whenever you don’t like what I have to say! I’m going to the bathroom, you guys can finish this up by yourselves!”

Cannon scratched the side of his head as she stormed off, “You know, I got used to Zen being dramatic but I don’t know if I can handle the both of them in one place.”

Red approached them as he had finished setting up the stage, “She’s not so bad. A fiery little thing, though. Hey Sugar, I finished up the lighting and connecting the sound system. Anything else yah need?”

Sugar shook his head without looking at the work Red had done. It wasn’t his expertise and it surely wasn’t his place to question things he knew little about, “As long as you are sure they will work you can go about your opening duties. You as well, Cannon. Thank you both for being diligent.”

The twins nodded and dispersed to their other work letting Sugar sit at the bar alone in his thoughts. From an outside perspective the man had many things to worry about: Zen having been even more irritable than normal after his second argument with Sunny, Zen being defensive that this performance was set up behind his back, the inevitable colorful conversation Zen would have with him once he found out who was performing.

Zen. The root of what Sugar should be nervous about.

But as he sat there with the two employees running around him to get Eros ready for the night, not a single care in the world was passing through his mind. The only thing he cared about was this night going smoothly, and the potential revenue that could come from it all.

Jingle~

Sugar’s attention was directed towards Zen walking in without a word. “Now darling, are we still throwing a tantrum?”

“Shut it, Sugar. I’m not in the mood.”

“Ah…I guess we are. Please, don’t let me interrupt your fit.”

Zen walked passed him towards his office, “Whatever. I just have some work to do.”

“Ah, which reminds me. I need to speak to you about tonight’s performers. You might want to know-”

“Look, you put this together so leave me out of it. If you have an issue then deal with it yourself. It’s obvious that I, even as the owner, had no say in it so I refuse to help.”

Sugar rolled his eyes, “Of course there are no issues, I do things thoroughly.”

“Then I don’t want to hear it, got it? Leave me alone. I’ll be out to help Red when it gets busy.” Zen stomped off to the room, leaving the door slightly open to hear anything going on.

Cannon came back around to the bar top and started wiping it down, “Well, at least he won’t be stealing the attention tonight. Hopefully it won’t be too much work for my brother and Zen can stay holed up in his office all night.”

“I sincerely doubt he will be quiet all evening, considering…” Sugar mused, “I will take care of him when the time comes. Isn’t it almost time to open the doors? Let’s get this evening started.”

************

The night was going well as many people had come in with the announcement of the performance. Everyone was busy, even Sunny had completely forgotten that she had gotten mad at Sugar in the first place, “Wow, whoever you invited to play must be pretty well known! This place is busy!”

“Of course they are well known, I told everyone I would only accept the best. Even Clicks couldn’t disagree with my choice.” He elbowed his friend who had arrived a bit earlier. Clicks nodded, “Ah yes, an excellent choice in terms of music. In terms of what may happen-”

“Is my problem and I will deal with it accordingly.” Sugar interrupted him, “Let’s all have a good time. Even if you are working, Sunny, I hope you enjoy the music.”

Her smile widened as her eyes sparkled brightly, “If you enjoy it, the music must be fantastic! You seem the type to have very refined tastes.”

Sugar’s face was plastered with a smug smile, “Naturally. I have no reason to subject myself to mediocre content when I can afford excellence.”

Clicks chuckled as he leaned towards Sunny to whisper, “He can be a bit stuck up, don’t you think?”

Sunny blushed as she didn’t know if she should actually answer that question or if it was only a joke. “W-well…I wouldn’t call it that, he’s just proud of what he has is all. Say, Sugar. Who is performing anyway? You never told us.”

He pointed towards the stage as a few people began to set up instruments, “You know them, just wait.”

The lights dimmed and the patrons hushed, knowing the show was about to start. The piano started to play lightly and the spotlight turned onto the person that began to sing.

Sunny looked towards the beautiful music playing and her jaw dropped as she saw the person at the microphone. “Is that…” Her head turned to address Sugar but she caught a glance at Zen who had emerged from his office, leaning against the doorframe of his office as he stared in disbelief at the stage.

He had been sitting at his desk completely disinterested in whatever was going on out in the bar but the moment he heard the song his legs twitched and as soon as he heard the familiar voice his body jolted from his seat. It was a voice he hadn’t heard in two years and it still caused his chest to tighten.  _It can’t be…it can’t be her…_

Zen swung the door open and his heart seemed to stop when his gaze landed on the woman under the lights.  The long flowing red hair that used to fan across his chest when she would lay with him on the rooftops of his apartment building. The deep green eyes that reflected brightly in every picture he would take of her. The perfect hourglass shape that he kept his hands on whenever humanly possible, or kept any clinging material off of. Those pouty lips that he loved to kiss; the same mouth that must have trembled while she had been crying over the phone telling him they were over.

She was just as he remembered.

But the music turned his stomach. Every breath he took was forced - as if he had forgotten how to do the most natural of bodily functions. Of all songs for her to open with, it had to be the one that sent him back to the first night he had met her. He had just finished an opening night of his newest role and went for a few drinks with the cast members. They managed to find a lounge near the theater that wasn’t terribly crowded on a Saturday night and settled in a booth near the stage.

A band had been playing which didn’t bother the actors much but Zen had taken a slight interest in the beautiful woman that approached the microphone. It wasn’t her stunning looks that grabbed his attention as much as the cute candid smiles she gave the band members as they started to play. The moment she began to sing, though, everything around him became a blur. He was enthralled by the smooth sultry tone that poured from her form and his body leaned forward as if he were being pulled towards her. Never once had he felt he was truly in love with anyone but as his pulse pounded in his throat he knew.

This was love.

That same magnetic feeling was what he felt that night in Eros as she swayed to the beat the same way she did on that fateful night. His heart still raced but now it was mixed with the overwhelming weight on his shoulders of how things turned out. No longer did the music bring him flutters, only reinforced the vice that was secured around his insides from every regret he had.

Sunny noticed the same pain in his eyes as he saw the afternoon after his vacation though she also noticed something unfamiliar. He’d never looked at any of the women that fawned over him at the bar this way. This wasn’t a man on the hunt for a one night stand - no. “He’s still in love…” She spoke softly to herself.

Clicks had noticed her staring and turned his head, frowning slightly as he leaned over to Sugar, “Are you sure this was a good idea? Look at him.”

Sugar shushed him as he watched the performance, “I haven’t heard her sing in a long time, and neither have you. I’ll deal with him later. Just enjoy it while you can.”

When the song ended Zen finally let out a breath as he had managed to hold it in during the last half. Shaking his head he looked around the bar now that he was back in reality and when he saw Sugar his gaze hardened. He made his way quickly over to the man and grabbed his suit jacket from the back, “Is this your idea of a joke, Sugar? What the hell is she doing here? More importantly, why the fuck would you do this to me? I thought we were friends but you bring Scarlet here to rub in my face? I want answers now!”

Sugar reached his arm behind to rip Zen’s hand off, “This has nothing to do with you, Zen. She happened to be in town and I know her presence would bring in plenty of customers which if you haven’t noticed,” He motioned out with his other arm, “was a good call. Of course, since you’ve been pouting in your office all night while Red has been running himself ragged you wouldn’t know. How about you help him out?”

“I don’t want to be out here and you know why.” Zen growled.

“Suck it up, Zen. Be an adult and deal with it. She’s going to finish up her set and be gone. You are more than capable of getting through forty-five more minutes of her singing.”

Zen inhaled deeply and walked behind the bar, “We are having a chat in my office once the night is over.”

Sugar shrugged as he sipped at his wine, “As you wish. Also…Scarlet? Really? Your creativity is lacking when it comes to nicknames. I think she is far more deserving of something other than her hair color.”

“Shut up, Sugar.”

Zen got through the rest of the set in a disgruntled mood, but still worked orders flawlessly. He would steal glances towards the stage every now and then, careful not to engage in eye-contact with the woman singing.

After the band had finished packing up, the singer approached Sugar as Zen had wandered to the other side to service some patrons. “This place is lovely but I don’t know if I can get used to calling you Sugar.”

He smiled at her endearingly, “It’s a rather annoying nickname but when you say it I don’t mind it as much.” He stood up and gave her a tight hug, “It’s been far too long, Scarlet. It’s good to see you are doing well. Bravo on the performance. I didn’t think you could get any better but you have proven me wrong.”

“Scarlet? Is that what he decided to call me? Well, I suppose it will do.” She took his embrace willingly, “It’s good to see you too. You seem to be in good shape, but what else would I expect? What with the compliments and such you haven’t changed a bit.”

“You think he would change? He still wears the same type of suits after all this time!” Clicks chimed in, “You’re looking as beautiful as ever, my dear. It was an absolute pleasure and an honor to hear you sing.”

She let go of Sugar and walked around to hug Clicks, “And you! You old devil! It’s good to see you too.”

“Enjoying your family reunion?” Zen hissed as he finally found the courage to approach them, “It would’ve been nice to know she was coming, I would have taken the night off.”

Scarlet dropped her arms from Clicks and turned to look at Zen, offering him a smile, “Hi Zen. It’s been a while.”

He straightened up and stared at her blankly, pulling his pack of smokes to tug one out, “Hello, Scarlet. It has been a long time. You look well.” He casually lit one of the cigarettes, “Still singing, I see. That’s good. Have you been touring?”

Although she went on to explain to them all her rounds in other countries Zen wasn’t paying attention. His mind was exploding with every thought imaginable of their past. The words that came from her spiked pains through his chest. He wanted to know everything yet at the same time he wanted to kick her out of the bar. Her slight chuckles as she told little snippets of amusing events throughout her time overseas made it unbearable to stand there. I used to make her laugh that way, is all he could think. He just couldn’t handle it.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet. I can’t do this. Could you please just go?”

She fell silent at his request, “Oh, yes. I have overstayed my welcome. I apologize.”

“No need for apologies, Scarlet.” Sugar interjected, “Let’s go have dinner, shall we? There’s a lovely restaurant that opened up a few weeks ago and I have been curious to try it out.”

Zen slashed his gaze towards him, a fiery hatred piercing through the man, “Oh yeah, go ahead! Ask her out on a date! I see what you wanted to do here. Screw you, Sugar!”

“Zen, it’s not like that.” Scarlet reached over the bar to try to touch his arm, “I wanted to-”

“Don’t touch me.” Zen said softly as he backed away, “I don’t want to see your face again. Have a good night.”

Clicks let out an exasperated sigh as the bartender walked off. “He doesn’t mean it, Scarlet. He’s just upset, you know how he can get.”

“Yes, I do,” She pulled her arm back to her side, “Which is why I want to talk to him but it seems like he wants nothing to do with me.”

Sugar stood up and brushed off his jacket, “Come, we have much to talk about. Clicks, just call when you are ready to go home and I’ll send a car for you.”

Clicks nodded as he still kept an eye on Zen, “Of course. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Scarlet hugged Clicks once more and kissed him on the cheek, “Don’t be a stranger. It was good to see you.”

As soon as the two walked out of the bar Zen came back around and threw a towel towards Clicks, “Wipe that red lipstick off your face, you look ridiculous.”

***

Once Sugar and Scarlet were in the car, he spoke a bit more casually, “I’m worried. You know that.”

“Has he been drinking heavily again?” She asked aloofly, “He seemed composed tonight.”

He shifted a bit in his seat, “I’ve only encountered him completely drunk a few times these past two months but I am aware that he reserves the bulk of his reckless behavior for when I’m not around.”

“And what would you want me to do? He refuses to talk to me.”

“He still has feelings for you. There is unfinished business that he needs to put to rest so he can move on. I think once that happens he can take the proper steps towards dealing with things effectively.”

“He still has feelings for me?” She cooed as she looked out the window, “It’s been so long and he is the one that has ignored me.”

Sugar looked over towards her with concern, “Do you still have feelings for him?”

She brought her hand up to her face to bite at her thumb as she tried to formulate words to answer but sighed instead in failure. His eyes squinted at her as he tried to read her body language, “Perhaps it isn’t wise, then. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I were the reason for you to be hurt a second time.”

“It’s okay, I’ll talk to him. I just need to get him alone. He’s far too proud to show any sort of weakness in front of any of you.”

He nodded a bit and sat up straight as they reached the restaurant, “Just be careful, please. I cherish you as a friend and only want the best for you.”

“Oh Sugar, you always know the sweetest things to say.” She joked, “Are you sure you weren’t just wanting to ask me out on a date?”

Sugar chuckled as he got out of the car, walking around to open the door and offering his hand, “I don’t think I could handle such a woman as you, my dear. In any case, I always thought you two were a lovely couple. I’d never dream of stepping between that.”

She took his aide and stepped out of the car, patting his chest lightly, “You’re a good man and an even better comrade. Zen is lucky to have you on his side.”

“Let’s just hope he sees it that way as well.” Sugar mused.

******

After Zen had sent everyone home he took his time locking up. Normally he was more than happy to leave with the group but he chose to stick around the bar to collect his thoughts. It was obvious to anyone that came in proximity to him that seeing Scarlet had him shaken, especially since he ignored every woman that tried to hit on him that night.

“Shit, she’s just as amazing as she was back then…” He mumbled to himself. His back was turned to the door and when he heard the familiar jingle of the bell above the door he called out before turning, “Sorry, we’re closed.”

“I didn’t want a drink, just wanted someone to talk to.”

He froze in his place at the voice that once again coaxed every emotion from his being. Having been caught off guard he became more frazzled than he already was from his interactions with Scarlet earlier. Quickly composing himself he grabbed his glass of vodka tonic and proceeded to turn around smoothly to look at her and reiterate, “Sorry, we’re closed.”

Scarlet scoffed before walking towards him, “You can’t even entertain me for a few minutes? You owe me at that much, at least.”

Any sense of confidence the man had mustered up suddenly dissipated at her statement and instead a wounded mutt now staring down at the ground stood behind the counter. She winced at his reaction but continued to approach him with a gentler demeanor, “I didn’t mean it that way, you don’t owe me anything.”

“No, you’re right. After what I put you through and all the damaging words I said I should be grateful you would give me the time of day. Have a seat. Can I get you a drink?”

“No thank you, I just want to talk.”

“Last time we talked, I made you cry.”

She ignored his invitation to sit, instead she stood at the gap that enabled the staff to access the bar, “Zen, that was two years ago. You were young and in a bad place. It doesn’t excuse the things you said but I understand how much stress you were enduring. I’d like to think that under any other circumstance you wouldn’t have been that way.”

“Of course I wouldn’t!” He exclaimed, “I loved you more than anything in the world! More than my acting, more than the stage! But damn it all, being weak and letting my drinking rule my life.”

“And it’s happening again?” her hand came up and placed a finger at his chin, lifting his head up to force eye-contact, “No one wants to see you fail.”

A warmth spread across his body at her physical touch, as small as it was. Out of the year and half they had been together not once did she not cause this. It soothed him, comforted him. She felt like home. “I have it under control, I promised Sugar I would. Is that why he brought you here? He thinks something’s wrong?”

“You have loyal friends that worry about you, friends that care enough about you to use their last resorts. Don’t be mad at him. He just wants what’s best for you. And well, he didn’t have to twist my arm or anything. After so long I welcomed the idea of being able to see you again.”

He moved closer to her, taking her hand in his and lightly kissing her knuckles, “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much.” He whispered, “Sugar was right, there is something wrong. I was hurt thinking you’d finally found another person to be with. I saw the news articles. I felt every raging emotion and wanted to just numb myself from the pain. All this time and I’m still crazy as shit for you.”

His open palm was at her cheek now, rubbing his fingertips lightly over the delicate skin of her face. As much as she tried to hold it back and contain herself for his sake she couldn’t help but melt under his caresses. If she were to deny that she didn’t feel the same way she’d be lying. She too felt she had lost a part of herself that night she broke up with him over the phone. But here he was, looking just as handsome as she had left him and the tethers that had kept them together still remained although now frayed by the weathering storm that was their downfall.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet. I’m sorry for all the names I called you, for the way I treated you. You didn’t deserve it.” His words were more than apologetic, they spoke as if he were in confession trying to absolve himself of his sins, “I’m not mad that you left me. I’m glad that you had the right mind to leave when you felt uncomfortable. I didn’t want to talk to you because I felt I had no right, not after what I did.”

Her slender fingers fell onto his waist as she subconsciously pulled him closer, “I forgive you, Zen, but you have to forgive yourself too.”

Zen let out a sigh as he now couldn’t stop staring at the sparkling eyes that had always managed to grab his attention. Against his better judgement he leaned down without hesitation to press his lips to hers, hand setting firmly against the small of her back.  The taste of her sent his head to the clouds remembering every time stole her lips throughout the days. This wasn’t a normal kiss; this was passion, this was love, this was longing.

He had spent most of their years apart trying to find someone that would have the same effect on him but night after night of chasing women he never felt the same thing. She was his everything. “Stay with me tonight,” he murmured into her mouth as she made no indication to move from his grasp, “I need you.”

“Zen…you know I shouldn’t.” She replied in a sorrowful tone, “We can’t do this to ourselves.”

His jaw clenched knowing she was right. Not only did his body yearn for hers but his heart beat wildly to have her back into his life. This woman, who did nothing but encourage him and support him, was what he thought he needed to solve all of his problems. But respecting her wishes he dropped his hold and backed away, “I understand. I wouldn’t want to be around me anymore than I had to either.”

Scarlet reached out to grab his arm, “I didn’t say I didn’t want to.”

Zen looked down at her hand, then trailed his gaze up her arm to her shoulders, to her neck where he lingered slightly, then back to her face, “The offer still stands, then.”

She pursed her lips as she tried to make a decision. She wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. “It could end horribly if we did this.”

“Things already ended horribly.”

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and nodded, “Then yes, I’ll stay.”

******

The clock chimed at six o’clock the next evening at Eros and Zen still hadn’t shown up. Red had been slightly worried but Sunny was the most vocal, “It’s not like him to even call! What if something happened? Shouldn’t we try to contact him?”

“If he doesn’t show up in an hour, I’ll call him myself. He’s done this before, he probably has a massive hangover and slept in.” Red played it cool as he lied through his teeth. The last time his boss didn’t contact them was about a year ago and it turned out the cab he took the night before to get home got in an accident and he ended up in the hospital. He didn’t dare tell Sunny this because knowing her she would be calling every hospital in the city trying to find out if he was there. “Just make sure to stay on top of the tables, hun. After last night we sure have been getting a lot of customers in.”

“Ah, so again I have come to save the day. I should be far more involved in this place.” Sugar mused as he had managed to take the evening off to check in on the place, “I wouldn’t worry about Zen. He’s probably still upset about seeing Scarlet last night.”

Sunny came around and wagged a finger at him, “Yeah! I wanted to talk to you about that. How come you get to squeeze into his privacy yet you reprimand me for trying to help? All I did was try to talk to him about her and you managed to bring her in person! How else did you expect him to react? Did you see the look on his face? It broke my heart, you could tell he was an absolute wreck.”

“If you don’t recall, Sunny, I have known him for far longer than you have so my actions have a different effect. I knew exactly what I was doing and I knew exactly how he’d react. You really think I didn’t think this through?”

She crossed her arms as her nose stuck into the air, “It was still cruel, and you know it.”

Sugar cleared his throat and set his glass on the counter, turning his body to give her his full attention, “One of two things could happen. He could either be destroyed about it and continue on his binge or their talk could have provided him with closure that will help him move on. I’m prepared to deal with the former but am hoping for the latter.”

“A fifty percent chance is rather low odds when it comes to a person’s emotional stability.” Clicks said as he sipped his glass of whiskey, “I’m surprised you took the gamble.”

“It was a risk I took for the sake of helping him out. Any other option had much lower odds. If you think I’m doing this just to make him more angry then you are incorrect.”

Sunny shook her head quickly, “I don’t think you mean to do it out of spite! You seem to really care about his well-being and I think that’s pretty honorable of you.”

“I don’t do it for praise, although it’s kind of you to give it. My loyalty is unwavering and I will do what I need to do to make sure everyone is set straight.”

Clicks chuckled slightly, “What he should be saying is, he wants to be a good friend. And indeed he is so. I don’t know where I’d be without this guy.”

“You’d be canoodling with that girlfriend of yours. Oh wait, you still do.”

“We broke up a few days ago, I forgot to tell you.” Clicks grimaced as he drank the last of his drink, “Another, Red?”

“Well color me surprised, Clicks. Who would have thought you’d break up with her for the..what? Twentieth time?”

As Red rushed over to fill the drink Click cleared his throat, “I stopped counting after twelve.”

“Honestly, it’s a bit much don’t you think?” Sugar started but before he could dive into a lecture…

Jingle~!

“Afternoon, beautifuls.”

“Zen!”

He waved unenthusiastically as he headed towards the bar, “Sorry, Red. I should have called. I slept in. Thanks for holding down the fort.”

“No problem, boss! Could you help me out with Cannon’s order, though? He’s got a table of seven in the back.”

Zen nodded and started filling the order, Sugar watching him closely, “And?”

“And what?” The bartender replied flatly.

“Were things resolved?”

As he finished the drinks Zen walked towards Sugar and Clicks, “She stayed the night with me.” His hand smoothed over the counter as reminders of the night before caused him to smile a bit.

Sugar let in a deep inhale and exhaled it slowly, “You’re an idiot.”  
  
His smile faded as he looked back up, “I’m aware.”

Clicks leaned forward, “Are you okay?”

Zen shrugged his shoulders as he looked around the lively establishment. Everyone seemed happy as the day continued for them normally but he felt more confused than ever. He sighed and poured himself a shot, taking it quickly before Sugar could scold him, “Honestly, Clicks, I don’t know.”


	10. Eros Ch. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

_“Tell me you felt it too, Scarlet. It’s like you never left. I want to try to make it work again, please say we can.”_

_“Zen, I don’t know if I can do that right now. I care about you but I can’t go through all of that again.”_

_“It won’t be like that, I already told you! I have things under control. You don’t trust me?”_

_“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just want to make sure that whatever happens is the best for your well being. He wouldn’t have contacted me if he didn’t feel that things were getting out of control.”_

_“Just forget all of that. Everything will be fine if I have you back in my life. I’m in a good place with this bar and all that’s missing is you. What we have is amazing and I don’t want to let it go again.”_

_“I don’t know, Zen.”_

_“Jagi, you don’t want us again?”_

_“Give me some time, okay? I’ll think about it. I really should go, though, and you need to get to work soon. Zen? Zen?”_

“ZEN!”

The bartender was interrupted from his daydreaming by a pen bouncing off his chest, a deep scowl creasing his features as he looked towards the culprit, “Cannon, you don’t have to throw stuff at me.” Zen had spent most of his free time zoning out thinking of the the last conversation he had with Scarlet after they spent the night together and was often caught in the act by different people at work.

“I’ve been calling your name for fifteen seconds and you didn’t as much blink at me. Stop imagining women and set me up a round of Irish car bombs.”

Zen moved from his place to set up a pitcher of Guinness, four shots of Baileys and four mugs, “I’m not imagining anyone, I’ve been thinking about how to spruce up the bar! It’s about that time for Sugar to come in and make adjustments.”

“Oh, so Sugar is on your mind? I knew you guys were a thing, what with how you two bicker all the time. But that doesn’t make sense. You had the most disgusting lovey-dovey look when you were staring at that singer the other night. Dude, control what’s in your pants so you can get my orders.”

Zen straightened up and moved along frigidly, “Here’s your order. Go deliver this before you get under my skin.”

Once Cannon wandered off, Joe leaned forward in her seat, “Zen, I’m sure a lot of people have been badgering you about it but I do hope you are okay. I could only imagine how emotional things are right now for you.”

He let in a sharp inhale but knowing that her concern was coming from a very genuine place he relaxed his body as he spoke to her, “I’m okay, Joe. Thanks for worrying about me. I just have to take it one day at a time, you know?”

Jingle~!

“Good Afternoon everyone.”

“Sugar! Scarlet!”

The two made their way towards the bar top. Sugar went to sit at his normal seat while Scarlet stayed back to hover closer to Zen, “Hey, you.”

Zen swallowed thickly as he saw the three walk in, mostly because he couldn’t keep his eyes off his ex-lover. When she approached him, though, he softened his demeanor immediately and gave her a genuine smile, “Hey! Good to see you here! Can I get you something to drink? We do have a few white wines and according to Sugar this bottle of Pinot Grigio is a very good.”

“Oh, I’ll take a glass. I’m surprised you remember my drinking habits.” She took a seat at the first empty barstool, watching as he made obvious moves to avoid looking at her.

“Rum when you don’t care how the night goes. Red wine for most dinners, and white wine when you just want a refreshing taste throughout the day. I’d be a terrible bartender if I couldn’t remember things like that.”

She finally looked down as she nervously intertwined her fingers together in her lap. Two years and he still held in his mind even the smallest details about her. Not wanting to embarrass him she didn’t mention the fact that it was still a long time to remember, “I am a creature of habit, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

Noticing how awkward Scarlet was acting and how much Zen was actively avoiding her, Joe turned and held her glass up to the other woman, “I was here the other night for your performance and I wanted to say you were outstanding! You have gained another fan here.”

Scarlet looked up towards Joe and blushed slightly, “Oh! Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it! It was nice to perform in such a cozy place as my first show back from tour. Perhaps if all contracts go well I could bring the band back in here for another performance.”

Zen placed the glass of wine in front of Scarlet and walked out from behind the bar, “I need to go grab a few more bottles of wine, we’re getting low up here. If you will excuse me.”

Everyone sitting at the bar watched as he disappeared towards the storage room. Once inside he closed the door and leaned against it, taking a few concentrated breaths. It seemed as if he couldn’t get a hold of himself when she was around especially since their evening together ended awkwardly.

He had asked her to come back to him, told her things were different, but he couldn’t blame her for being cautious. If anything, this fueled him to show her that he could be better and be the man she wanted him to be. How could he convince her without begging? A few weeks ago he wouldn’t have dreamt that she would step through those doors as he had become, once again, content with his bachelor status.

Before he had ever met her he was completely used to women chasing him. Casual relationships and one-night-stands weren’t foreign to him and as most were only enthralled by his physical attributes he never let himself feel anything deeper. When he first spoke to Scarlet, though, the words that came from her mouth drove a battering ram through the walls he had erected around his heart.

_You’re Zen, aren’t you? I’m so humbled to meet you! I saw a play a month ago where you were the lead actor and I thought your performance was absolutely amazing! You have such talent and passion on the stage! I’m seeing your new show tomorrow, I was sad I had to miss opening night._

It floored him that she was the first to chatter on about his work. He approached her to compliment her vocals and instead was given a rare gift from a stranger. She wasn’t fangirling - no. This was genuine. Even if she didn’t know a lot of technical topics on the subject of acting any compliment she turned to him made him feel all of his hard work was really paying off. All the nights he spent practicing his lines, all the days stuck in rehearsals in a stuffy auditorium. She touched on everything he was conscious about and hoped that anyone in the audience would notice how much time he put into perfecting it.

The only thing he could muster between her delightful conversation was a meager addition saying she had the most beautiful voice he’d ever heard. Thinking back on it, he always felt regret for sounding so ignorant. He knew singing as he practiced and trained daily so he could easily say just as much about her voice but was too nervous. His simple admiration was more than enough for her in the long run as she too was often scrutinized and objectified based on her looks.

After that, they were almost inseparable. Not to say they were around each other constantly as their careers required them to either be in some sort of rehearsal or show constantly, but trust that both of them always made sure to have extra battery packs and plenty of charging cables for their phones so they never missed a text or a phone call. Most importantly, he could be himself around her. His days of making sure he was perfect before taking a picture of himself to send to him dwindled to the point that he didn’t care if his face was slightly swollen the morning after a night of drinking and partying; he never missed a day to send her a picture to show her how much he missed her.

But all of that was gone after their break up and consequently his meltdown.

Now hiding in a dark room of the bar he couldn’t stop thinking of all of his memories, good and bad. His eyes looked around until he found the stash of vodka he had put in there as his own, reaching for a bottle to take a swig, “Get a hold of yourself, man!” He lectured himself, “Just play it cool, you’ve got this in the bag!”

Back out in the bar, business was steady as it had been since the performance. Red was busy filling out orders for the two waiters while everyone sitting at the bar top were bantering between each other.

Jingle~!

Red looked up to greet whoever walked in but instead of any words he let out a heavy sigh. He took his time to say anything, filling an order for the eager Sunny who was waiting for her drinks. She looked towards the door and smiled, “Hello! Welcome to Eros! Have a seat wherever you’d like!”

“Didi, what are you doing here? Come to make everyone miserable?” Red tapped along the counter in front of Sugar to get his attention before walking towards the woman he was addressing.

Didi. A brunette with bright blue eyes that was the bane of Zen’s existence. A very popular Idol that is most commonly known by everyone as Echo Girl, she was the catalyst to everything that happened to Zen in the past and is normally looked down upon at the bar.

“I’d be careful of what you say to me, I can sue you!”

“And if I were you, I would be careful with what you say as well. I take care of any legalities in this place and will not hesitate to call my lawyers if you start any trouble.” Sugar was stern as he spoke, standing up to walk towards Red, “I advise you to leave before anything gets out of hand.”

Didi rolled her eyes and flipped her hair back behind her shoulders, “I didn’t come to start any trouble. I thought that, as the owner of Aphrodite Lounge, I should come say hello to the neighboring establishments. I heard a rumor that you had someone of reputable standard perform and I was hurt you didn’t ask me.” She looked past the two men and locked eyes with Scarlet who had turned to see what the commotion was about, “I see that the rumor was true.”

The tension in the area immediately thickened as the two women continued to stare each other down. “I heard a rumor too, Didi, that you had opened up a competing bar down the street just to try to get on Zen’s nerves. Now I see that those rumors were true.” Scarlet hissed, hand gripping at the brass along the edge of the counter.

“Well I heard a rumor that he was diving back to his old ways of drinking too much. But since you are here that doesn’t make sense. Last time he did that you left him high and dry.”

Sunny had come around towards the bar, curiously listening in to the back and forth between the two, “Wow, that’s a lot of rumors. Does anyone appreciate facts these days?”

Cannon walked up behind Sunny and placed a hand over her mouth, “I really don’t think you should get involved in this.”

“He’s right, little girl. The adults are talking!” Didi snickered towards Sunny, “Who are you anyway? One of Zen’s new conquests?”

Sugar cleared his throat and stepped forward a bit, “I think it’s time for you to go. You have made your point and exerted whatever position you wished. Now if you don’t mind, the employees have work to do.”

Didi clicked her tongue and walked to the bar, “I’d like to have a drink, or would you turn away a customer?”

Red followed her, feet dragging as he went, “Sure, as long as you pay. Don’t think you get any freebies because of who you are. We run a business here.”

The blue-eyed girl sat near Scarlet, leaving only one barstool between them, “I have enough money to buy this place, you think I need free drinks?”

“I don’t doubt you could buy this bar, but I’m fairly sure the owner wouldn’t sell it to you even if you offered him double the asking price.” Sugar mused as he found his way back to his seat, “Watch yourself, Didi. I won’t allow any incidents tonight.”

Sunny slinked over towards Joe and nudged her slightly as she whispered, “I know you know what the deal is, spill it sister!”

Joe shifted slightly in her seat and looked towards the pool tables, “I feel like playing a game. Do you mind bringing me a beer back there, Sunny?” She excused herself and walked towards the other area and as Red slid a glass of beer towards the waitress she hurried to follow the coffee shop owner.

Sunny watched as Joe readied a pool stick, rubbing the chalk along the end and, “You get one question for each ball that I pop in during this game of 9-ball, Sunny. Ask carefully, I’m very good at this.”

“Who is Didi?”

“She’s a local idol that was obsessed with Zen back when he was acting.”

One ball knocked into a pocket.

“Why does it seem like everyone hates her around here?”  
  


“She accused Zen of assaulting her a few years back. It was all lies but since she was beloved by the public it was hard for him to defend himself.”

Two ball knocked into a pocket.

“Did people actually believe it?!”

“A lot did and many of his fans turned on him. It was sad, really. He didn’t know how to handle the situation.”

Three ball knocked into a pocket.

“Did she have proof? How did she manage to convince anyone if he didn’t really do anything?”

“Apparently she went to his house to try to convince him to be the lead in this play her dad set up. She was so into him that she wanted to act alongside him. He refused and she got mad. She had someone take pictures of her leaving his house in tears. It was a flimsy defense but because of her position people pitied her. Also, that was two questions but I’ll allow it.”

Four ball knocked into a pocket.

“What happened to Zen after that?”

“He was really stressed and unfortunately started drinking far more than usual. She had someone go to a bar where Zen got really drunk and egged him to talk badly about Didi. They recorded it all and the video went viral on the internet.”

Five ball knocked into a pocket.

“Oh god…and then?”

“He was dropped by his managers and nobody wanted to touch him. His acting career was ruined at that point.”

Six ball knocked into a pocket.

“Was he charged?”

“No. Didi miraculously dropped the charges but the damage was already done. We assume that his destruction was enough for her.”

Seven ball knocked into a pocket.

“That’s horrible, Joe. I mean, I know he can get moody but in general he’s a fairly easy-going guy. I would have never thought something like that would have happened. Say…Didi mentioned something about Scarlet leaving him high and dry. What’s that all about?”

“The only thing he told me about Scarlet was that she didn’t approve of his drinking and broke up with him when he was getting out of control. Apparently he said some really mean things to her while under the influence and he’s regretted it ever since.”

Eight ball knocked into a pocket.

“Did Scarlet believe Didi’s story? I can only imagine how terrible it would be to hear that your boyfriend forced himself onto some other woman.”

“She didn’t, actually. From what I understand Scarlet laughed at the idea and never doubted Zen once but she was overseas on tour when everything happened so she couldn’t really do much in terms of helping prove his innocence.”  
  


Nine ball knocked into a pocket.

Sunny hurried over and pulled the nine ball from its pocket, placing it back on the billiards table, “I have one more question.”

Joe scrunched her nose at the other woman, “Cheating.”

“Please?”

“Fine.”

Sunny clapped her hands excitedly, “Why did Sugar give Zen money for this bar if his problem in the first place was alcohol?”

Joe had bent over already to hit the ball back into the pocket but slowly straightened as the question was asked, “Honestly? I don’t know. I always wondered that myself but I never dared to ask Sugar. He seems to dodge questions when it comes to Zen. They may fight a lot but Sugar seems to really care a lot about his well-being. You should ask him, he seems to have taken a liking to you.” Both of them were startled as they heard yelling near the bar, hurrying over to see what was going on.

“How dare you treat me like this? You’re the idiot who stayed with Zen after he tried to force himself on me!” Didi yelled towards Scarlet who was calmly sipping at her wine even though her patience was wearing thin.

“Are you still holding onto that lie of yours? I don’t care how many times you shout at me I would never believe that nonsense. By the way, you owe me quite a bit from long-distance phone calls since you tried so hard to convince me back then that my boyfriend would even look at another woman. It starts to add up.”

“That’s what men want you to think! He still has you fooled! He couldn’t even control himself in his drinking to keep you around! It’s honestly despicable to women everywhere that you would come crawling back to him after everything!” The brunette stood up to exert dominance, “You disgust me!”

At the sounds of an argument Zen had burst through the door of the storage room, “Hey, what’s going on out here?” He caught a glance at Didi, his stomach lurching at her image, “What are you doing here? If you’re just trying to stir things up I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Didi glared at Zen, “I only came here to say hello as the manager at the Aphrodite Lounge and I get treated like this? You’ve made a big mistake, I’m going make sure everyone in town knows how terrible it is in here!”

Zen’s jaw slacked slightly in shock, “You own that place? Why would you open a bar down the street from me? You hate bars! Is this just to…” He stopped speaking and looked down at the ground, “Thank you for coming by, then. It’s always a pleasure to meet fellow establishment owners. I hope we can coexist peacefully.” He felt everyone stare at him when he became so docile. There was nothing more he wanted to do but throw Didi out of the bar himself but knowing her influences he didn’t want to risk any more scandals that could possibly risk him this place he loved. “Whatever you were drinking is on the house.”

Scarlet cocked her head to the side as she watched Zen’s dejected expression. She knew him too well to discredit his actions but knowing that Didi would use that against him to the fullest angered her greatly. She slowly turned to stare at the idol with a deadpan expression, “Get out. Now.”

Didi smirked as she leaned in towards Scarlet, “Jealous that he falls at my feet? Looks like he always let me have some sort of power over him, perhaps a power you never had?”

Scarlet smoothed her fingers along the glass of her wine, only turning her head slightly to give Didi a menacing glare that caused shivers down her spine, “Let’s get one thing straight. It is you that is a disgrace to women. You used your feminine wiles to accuse Zen of a terrible act that he did not do. You had no power, only pity from your ridiculous fans. You destroyed his reputation because baby didn’t get her way. You’re just a spoiled little brat. I will never, in my waking life, be jealous of how pathetic you truly are.”

Didi let in a sharp breath and slapped Scarlet across the cheek, “How dare you! I could own you and everything you do! You don’t know who you are talking to!”

Zen froze as he saw the slap, walking slowly towards them, “Scarlet…don’t…” He looked towards Didi with pleading eyes, “Just go before things get out of hand.”

“No no, it’s alright. It’s typical for a cornered animal to resort to physical tactics. It just further shows her true character.” Scarlet lightly glossed her fingertips along the now heated cheek that was hit, “I expect nothing less from someone so immature.”

Didi’s face flushed red in anger and before anyone could say anything else she slapped Scarlet again, “Shut up, you stuck up bitch!”

A few gasps came from the patrons along the bar top but Sugar leaned forward to motion to the girls, “You know, Didi. We do have security cameras in here. My lawyers will love watching you slap her over and over.”

Snickering a bit, Scarlet reeled her arm back and released, balled fist landing a stern punch into Didi’s face. The sound of cracking echoed only shortly before the brunette doubled over in pain. Blood dripped down to the floor as the girl grabbed at the area, “You broke my nose!”

“I’ll break a whole lot more if you don’t get the hell out of here!” Scarlet moved to get to Didi but was stopped as Zen threw his arms around her to hold her back, “Stop, Jagi, please! She’s not worth it!”

Didi grabbed her things to run out of the bar, “Y-you will be hearing from my legal team for sure! This bar is done for!”

Zen sighed a bit as the girl left, letting go of Scarlet slowly, “You defended me…”

“Of course I did! She can’t just come in here and expect to walk all over you again! She knew damn well that you wouldn’t say anything to her to avoid any other problems. Regardless of our status now I won’t let her drag you like before. She had it coming anyway.”

He lifted her hand up to kiss her knuckles that had started to swell slightly, “I didn’t want to seem subservient but I can’t deal with another incident like before.”

“I know, and that’s why I got so upset. If she wants a problem then she’ll have to deal with me.” She smiled a bit as he tried to comfort her, “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.”

“Correction. I will take care of it.” Sugar interjected as he walked over to them, “Are you alright? I know it was just a punch but the sound it made when your fist made contact with her nose was rather horrible. I’d advise you to see a doctor, I will take care of the costs.”

“I’m okay, Sugar, really.” Scarlet pat him on the shoulder, “But I am going to head home, she made me irrationally upset and I should calm down a bit.”

Zen held onto her arm a bit tightly, “Let me get you a drink, we can go into my office and talk. I’d feel much better if you relaxed a bit here. And I can’t lie and say I’m not worried that she may have someone go after you if you leave so soon.”

She sighed a bit and nodded, “Fine, let’s talk. Wait…are there really security cameras in here?”

“Of course.” Sugar pointed towards different corners of the bar, “I had them installed when Zen first got the bar. And just in case, I had Cannon take a video of it on his phone.” Cannon waved his cell with a grin.

Zen pulled her towards the room, “He said he’d take care of it, come on.” Once they were inside and the door was closed he sat her on the couch, kneeling in front of her to rest his head on her lap, “I can’t believe you would stand up for me like that. I don’t deserve you being so good to me.”

“Zen,” Her hand began to stroke at his hair, “What you don’t deserve is for that woman to continue to make your life a living hell. She already did enough and I wasn’t there to help stop it. I have regrets too, you know. Deep down you are a good man and I will always be on your side.”

“Stay with me.” He begged in a voice that she hadn’t heard before. It was in his pure desperation where she saw that Sugar was right to worry.  Her heart clenched knowing he was having this bad of a time. The way he clutched to her as if she would disappear the moment he let go - she was always weak towards his neediness. She brought his face up to look on him directly, crimson eyes glossed over with threats of spilling tears down his cheeks, “Zen, I’ll stay. I miss you and I want to be here for you this time. But you have to promise me that you won’t drink anymore. Can you do that for me?”

Zen slowly got up and wrapped his arms around to hug her tightly, “Scarlet, I promise. God I promise, I won’t let you down this time. I love you so much, thank you.”

Scarlet sighed as she again melted in his embrace. The familiar warmth of his body filled every part of her being but she pulled him away to place her hands on his face, gently wiping his tears away with her thumbs, “You have no reason to thank me since I’m not doing this as a favor. I am saying yes because I want this too. Let’s be good to each other, okay?”

He chuckled a bit and leaned past her hands to press his lips deeply into hers, “I’ll be good to you, Jagi. Things will be perfect.”

“Actually…perfect would be some ice to put on this hand. It’s really starting to hurt.”

He frowned and looked at the swelling that had gotten worse, “Damn. I’ll go grab some, just wait here.” As he stood up he looked towards the door, “You’re really going to be here when I come back this time?”

She softly grabbed at his pant leg, “Yes. this time I will.”


	11. Eros Bar Ch. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

“Three beers and a Vodka tonic, order up!” Red called out as he placed the drinks on a tray, followed by Cannon sweeping by to pick it up. **  
**

Business had been steady still and with Zen back in cheerful moods things were running as smooth as ever. Since he had gotten back with Scarlet his entire presence had changed for the better. Even the slightest of jokes towards him was laughed off and he no longer got irrationally angry. He felt as if nothing could spoil his good fortune.

Everyone around him, though, felt a bit uneasy. They were used to him being in good spirits but when he didn’t bat an eye at Cannon’s prodding things got suspicious.

In the middle of the afternoon rush Sunny motioned Red over when Zen wandered off to speak with some regulars at a table, “Say, Red. Don’t get me wrong, I like that Zen has been more likeable these past few weeks but it doesn’t sit well with me. Everything is fixed because he’s dating his ex again? He seems like he doesn’t properly deal with his emotions and needs more than just a girlfriend to solve his problems.”

Red sighed as he threw a towel over his shoulder, throwing a few cups into the sink to clean, “Just be glad he’s been in a good mood. Don’t over think things, Sunny. You know what’s happened when you’ve tried to intervene.”

“I’m not being nosey!” She huffed, “I’m just concerned is all! I don’t trust what’s happening and I would hate to see anything bad happen to him.”

“Hey Sunny!” Zen came up to them, causing her to jump, “Could I talk to you for a minute?”

“S-sure!” She straightened up and gave him a nervous smile hoping he hadn’t heard their conversation, “What’s up?”

He put his arm around her shoulder, “I’ve been thinking a lot and I want to apologize for everything I’ve said and done to you. I realized that you really wanted to help me and I overreacted. I appreciate you looking out for me and I’d like to be friends like you suggested.”

She blushed a bit, stumbling over her words, “O-of course! I’d like that! I promise to be more mindful of how things will affect you. I really never meant to hurt your feelings.”

Zen chuckled a bit as he ruffled her hair, “Well, how about I just don’t take things to heart? I highly doubt you would be able to hold your tongue on certain subjects but I think that’s part of your charm!”

Sunny pursed her lips and slid out from under his arm, “I’ll take that as a compliment lest I get angry.”

“How about you go check on your tables lest I get angry over having to refill their drinks?” Cannon growled as he walked by, “Stop flirting with Zen, he’s taken.”

“I’m not flirting!” She exclaimed as she felt her face get hot, “I’m just glad that he wants to be friends! That’s all I ever wanted!”

Zen smiled softly and motioned her off, “It’s okay, princess. You know he is just trying to mess with you. Go on and check on your tables for me, would yah?”

She glared at Cannon for a moment before sticking her nose in the air and walking off to the patrons. Red sauntered over and leaned against the counter, “Good on you, Zen. Sunny doesn’t really mean any harm. I know she is just worried about you. Huh, looks like she’s attached herself to your side.”

“I always got the vibe that she was into me. Perhaps if I weren’t taken we could be a cute couple but alas.” he poured a shot of whiskey and tipped it towards Red, “I have the woman of my dreams by my side already.”

Red frowned and grabbed Zen’s wrist, “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah…Hey! It’s just one, right? We all know my tolerance is so high this won’t even affect me!”

“I’m pretty sure you told us you promised her not to drink. Unless you filled that bottle with dirty water, you are breaking the rules.”

Zen chewed on the inside of his cheek in slight embarrassment, “Cut me some slack, man.  I just have a shot or two throughout the day to keep the headaches at bay. I cut out anything more than that!”

Red let go of him slowly. He took a step back to stare at him in concern. “Dude, you can’t go a day without having a drink? I didn’t know it was that bad. Maybe you should see a doctor before you try to wean yourself off, you know how dangerous it can be.”

“Hey now! It’s not like that. It’s just the same as people that drink a lot of coffee. One morning without it and you feel miserable!”

“Yeah, except caffeine withdrawals can’t kill you.”

Zen clicked his tongue and took the shot, letting out a sigh of relief as the familiar taste and feeling filled his body, “Just one, Red. Don’t tell the miss, eh?”

Red frowned and nodded, “Sure thing, Boss. But if anything bad happens or your withdrawal gets too bad-”

“You can take me straight to the hospital, okay? You worry too much, my drinking was never that big of a problem.” He set the shot glass far away and motioned as if he accomplished some great feat, “Now, more orders?”

Jingle~!

“Clicks!”

“Hey everyone!”

He walked over towards his normal seat, waving to Zen as he came to greet him, “Whiskey on the rocks, please. You seem to be doing well! How’s it been with Scarlet?”

“Fantastic!” Zen proclaimed as he filled a glass to hand over to Clicks, “We still have a lot to catch up on and things to work through but she’s with me and that’s the most important part.”

“How’s life without drinking? It’s been a few weeks so you must feel healthier.”

“Oh, yeah! I feel great! But what makes things better is that she stayed. I’m on top of the world!” Zen refilled a few beer mugs from around the bar before returning to Click’s side, “Is Sugar not back from his business trip yet? I kind of miss that guy.”

Clicks choked a bit on his drink with Zen’s words, “Did you just say you missed him? That’s a first. Being sober really has done things to you.”

The white-haired male rubbed the back of his neck, “Aye…it’s not that. I was pretty mad at him for bringing her here but I guess I owe him now. He’s the reason why I have my girlfriend back! I guess I should back off from him for a while.”

“I am impressed!” Sunny said as she came back to the bar top, “You’re even acknowledging Sugar’s good deeds! You know, I was a bit worried that things got too good too quickly but if you are going to play nice with him I guess I can’t complain.” In her emotional excitement she gave him a big hug, scrunching her nose as she caught an unexpected scent, “You smell like alcohol.”

Zen jumped back a bit to create some distance, “Of course I do! I’ve been pouring drinks all afternoon. A bit of splash is bound to happen!”

She squinted her eyes at him, “That better be the reason!” She pointed her index and middle finger at her eyes, then pointed to him, and back to her. Her hand dropped to land on her hip, “Say, what happened with that Didi? She seemed pretty pissed leaving with a broken nose.”

“Ah, you guys didn’t hear? Sugar is dragging her through some legal business for harassment. Apparently she forgot that he had a restraining order that also included any of his businesses and well…technically this place is under his name.” Clicks smiled a bit, “Last I knew she is shutting down that competing bar to try to convince him to drop charges but I don’t think she knows how things work.”

Zen whirled around to stare at Clicks, “Wait, really? He’s actually going through with it? What if Scarlet gets in trouble for punching her?”

“Seeing as Didi was caught on two video recordings admitting she lied about your accusations, he’s planning on using Scarlet’s potential lawsuit as a bargaining chip. Don’t worry, Zen. He’ll make sure everything turns out fine.”

Sunny let out a sigh of relief, “Wow, Sugar really is such a great guy, huh? He can fix anything!”

Cannon huffed at her showering compliments to Sugar, “He’s just a guy with loads of money who gets his rocks off from watching people squirm under his power. That’s not admirable.”

“Is somebody jealous?” Red teased, “You two aren’t that much different. You like to make other people’s lives a living hell too. You know, just like how you never replace the toilet paper.”

“What? The rolls are right under the sink, you can do it yourself!”

“When duty calls the last thing I think about is digging in the cabinets. I have to drop the kids off at the pool on time!”

“As the lifeguard at the pool, I say you spend too much time there! Flush the damn kids and don’t make me wait an hour to piss!”

“You two are so gross!” Sunny cried as she shook her head. She turned to Zen with curiosity in her eyes, “Why do you call her Didi anyway?”

Zen blushed furiously as he began to stutter, “O-oh, W-well you see…”

Cannon elbowed Sunny before he motioned towards his chest, “It’s because she’s got-”

“Double the pleasure, double the fun!” Red interjected.

She looked between them all with a disgusted look on her face, “It’s because of her breast size?! How barbaric! Ugh, I can’t believe I work with a group of Neanderthals!”

Red snickered, “Hey, don’t blame us. She’s the one that boasted about it first. ‘Blah blah, these are natural’.”

Cannon howled in laughter, “Yeah! Like we’d believe that!”

Sunny scoffed and grabbed her tray, “Idiots, all of you! I’m checking on my tables.” Cannon swiped his notepad and followed her, continuing to heckle as they walked.

Zen let out a hefty sigh as they both walked off. Quirking his head as he felt a light thud on his arm his attention went to Clicks, presumably the culprit of launching the wad of napkins towards him, “Hmm?”

“Just a bit of splash, yes? You weren’t lying to her?”

“Why would I lie to her, Clicks?” Zen bent over to pick up the trash, shooting it into the trashcan like it were a basketball. “Yes!” He congratulated himself before holding his hand up to Clicks for a high-five. When he wasn’t met with another hand he turned his head to look at the scowling man, “Don’t leave me hanging, man!”

“You drank today.”

“What? I just told you I didn’t! What is with everyone today?” Zen started untying his apron from around his waist, “Red, I’m taking my break. I’m going to call my girlfriend.”

Red nodded as he wiped some glasses down, watching him walk to the office from the corner of his eye. The moment the door closed he rushed over to Clicks, “Hey, you knew him during his situation before. How bad was he back then?”

“How bad was it? For a few weeks, if he wasn’t sleeping he was drunk. Sugar had to tackle him down at one point to make sure he wouldn’t drive his motorcycle home after a night of binging at a bar. Zen is a wonderful person but he feels emotions so greatly and sometimes doesn’t know how to deal with them. I know he told me once that when he was drunk he didn’t feel anything. But even before that he would drink a lot of beer just because. It eased his stress from working so much.”

“Do you think he’d drink even if he didn’t have stress?”

Clicks ran his finger along the edge of the glass as he found the words to answer the question. “He would always have a few casual drinks here and there. His fridge is filled with beer normally,” He replied slowly, “He was good about controlling himself in the past but when he started getting more roles and the pressure hit, he spiraled. Why do you ask?”

Red looked around and leaned in to speak in a low tone, “He took a shot earlier, said that he got headaches if he didn’t drink. That’s not good, Clicks.”

Clicks closed his eyes and raised his hands to rub at his temples in small circular motions, “Shit, it’s worse than we thought. I honestly didn’t know that it was having a physical effect on him or else I would have been more stern.”

“It’s not your fault, Clicks. He’s pretty good at hiding things.”

Clicks looked down at his vibrating phone and groaned as he saw the name of the person who texted him, “Damnit, I need to go for a bit. My girlfriend is upset about something and I need to go calm her down. Keep an eye on him for me, will you? I’ll talk to him when I get back.”

As Red started waving him off but Sunny ran up and called out to Clicks, “Wait up, I’ll leave with you!” She ripped her apron off and threw it at Red, “Zen let me take a few hours off tonight so I could go talk to one of my professors. I’ll be back to help close!”

“Aye, that was tonight? we’ll hold down the fort. You two be careful!”

As the two left Zen emerged from the office, whistling a merry tune to himself. Stepping back behind the bar he looked around, “Did Clicks leave?”

Red nodded, “Yeah, he has some sort of emergency with his girlfriend to take care of.”

“Oh? An emergency with that woman means he probably loaded the dishwasher wrong and she blew up about it.”

Red shrugged, “Probably. Oh, Sunny headed off too. She had that thing at school.”

“Right, right.” Zen mused to himself, “That’s fine, it hasn’t been too crazy in here. I think we can handle it until she gets back.” He looked up when a familiar group of girls that greeted him in chorus entered the bar. He smiled brightly and waved, “Hello ladies! It’s been awhile, where have you been hiding?”

“Oh you know, life and stuff.” A brunette approached the bar and unashamed leaned forward to expose her cleavage, “But we’ve all missed you, Zenny~! How about you show us a good time tonight?”

He watched as the others found seats around the bar top, “Well ladies, I can definitely serve you drinks but anything else is out of the question, I’m afraid. I’m officially off the market.”

The women all groaned in disappointment, chattering at him with a myriad of questions. He stepped back a bit with a laugh, “Now now, you are all still my princesses so let me get you a round of drinks on the house!”

“Take a shot with us, Zenny!” One of the girls pleaded, “We haven’t been here in so long!”

He let in a sharp inhale before shaking his head, “Sorry ladies, I can’t. But I can serve you up some!”

As he started up the round of shots the brunette reached over and touched his arm lightly, “Oh come on, Zenny! I’m leaving for a few months for a new job and I won’t see you for a while! You won’t even have one on my behalf?”

He bit his bottom lip and looked around, noticing that Red had went to deliver some drinks to a table, “Okay, just one! Because I like you girls.” The girls cheered and took the shots, holding them up in a toast. Zen cleared his throat and held his up, “To the beautiful ladies that I will always welcome into my bar!” They all took it and giggled between each other, asking for another round.

He served them, but the brunette frowned towards him, “No toast to my new job?” Zen gasped and poured himself another shot, “Hold on, that deserves a proper toast!” He held it up to the group, “To your new job and new adventures!”

The evening continued and slowly his inhibitions lowered as he continued to take shots with the girls who had stolen all of his attention. It became busy and Red hadn’t noticed Zen sneaking shots constantly since he was still quick to fill orders. During a moment of slowed movement Red finally took a breather to look at Zen. His eyes widened at the sight: Zen’s shirt was completely unbuttoned, a filled shot glass in each hand, the brunette sitting on the counter cheering him on.

“What the hell?” Red rushed over and pulled him away, “What are you doing?! I can overlook one shot but…” He looked his boss over, noticing him swaying a bit, “Are you drunk?”

Zen rolled his eyes, “Nah, man. I’m fine! We are celebrating her last few days in the city! Don’t kill my buzz.”

“I won’t be the one killing you, you know.” He tried to pull the shot glasses out of his hands but Zen pushed him away and took them both in quick succession, “You’re too slow~!”

Red grabbed at his arm desperately, “Zen, just stop drinking now and I’ll forget anything happened. You can’t get out of hand like this!”

Zen pulled himself away and glared at his employee, “I am completely in control! I’m just having a bit of fun with these lovely ladies and you’re just jealous that they aren’t giving you attention!”

Red backed away as his boss turned back around to serve up another round of shots. “Zen…” He said softly, “I’m sorry…” He grabbed his phone to send a text to Clicks, “I can’t let this go on any further.”

Fifteen minutes later Clicks came back to the bar followed by a visibly upset Scarlet. Zen turned to shout a greeting towards the jingle above the door but his expression fell as he saw her, “Jagi! I, uh, thought you had work tonight?”

She made her way towards the group, staring him down as she did everything to hold her composure, “I need to talk to you.”

“Hey, he’s partying with us tonight, get in line!” the brunette sitting on the counter said, crossing her arms. Scarlet switched her gaze towards the girl, “I’m his girlfriend. I suggest you move.”

“But he-”

“Beat it!” Scarlet bellowed causing all of them to immediately scatter. Zen had turned around to try to gather himself, wiping his face down with a towel before struggling to button up his shirt, “How was your day, sweetie?”

She leaned forward and motioned him closer, “Come here.”

His breath hitched in his throat as he stayed frozen in his place, “Scarlet, let’s talk in my office, okay?” She blinked at him and quickly moved to go behind the bar, pressing up against him. Taking a deep breath through her nose she glared, “You’ve been drinking.”

He shook his head, “N-no! It’s been really busy tonight and I’ve served a lot of alcohol-”  
  
“I can smell it on your breath. You’re lying to me.” She backed away slowly, “You’re lying. But why? Zen, you promised!”

“Jagi, I-”  
  


“No.” She interrupted him once more, “Don’t you dare call me that. You don’t deserve to call me that! You told me you would stop drinking and you are doing it behind my back!”

Zen held his arms out in incredulously, “I was just entertaining my customers! What’s the big deal? Sure I had a few drinks, who cares! It doesn’t matter what I do for work!”

“It matters to me.” She replied softly, “It matters because you promised me not to do it. Do my feelings not matter to you?”

He clenched his fists and looked her straight in the eye, “Did you think of my feelings when you left me alone two years ago?” He stood up straight to try to tower over her, “I needed you more than anything and you dumped me! My life was falling apart and you were having the time of your life overseas! I think me having a few damn drinks in my own bar shouldn’t be a problem!”

Clicks rushed over as he heard Zen raise his voice, standing between them, “Guys, lets be rational. We can discuss this in the office.”

Scarlet took in a deep inhale and let it expel slowly, ignoring the man that had stood in front of her, “You ignored me for two years, Zen. Two years!” Even though her voice elevated in volume it was biting with emotional distress, “I never got to be mad! You retreated into your own self-pity when you had no reason for it! You called me a worthless girlfriend and that I didn’t care about you since I wouldn’t drop everything to come running! I told you to wait for the weekend so I could get a plane ticket and you called me a piece of shit!”

Zen immediately calmed as every nerve he had left his body. Coming to his senses he couldn’t believe he would speak to her in the manner that he had just moments ago. Of course she was right. The evening he was fired from his role and his manager dropped him he had indeed called her as he hit an all time low, more drunk than he ever had been. The horrible things he said to her haunted his dreams ever since and for her to bring it back up cause that ache in his heart that kept him up so many nights.

He slowly held his arm out around Clicks to try to reach her, “Scarlet…”

“No!” She backed away further as the tears she had been holding back finally fell down her cheeks, “I gave you a second chance and you couldn’t even keep your promise to me. I didn’t even matter enough to you to stay away from alcohol. It’s obvious what you care about more.”

Zen shook his head and tried to get closer to her, “No, Scarlet, please!”

She walked from behind the bar and looked away, “I can’t be with you if I can’t trust you. You say you love me but I just can’t believe that anymore. I’m sorry that I’m doing this to you again, Zen. We’re over. Don’t come looking for me. I thought I was enough to help you through this but apparently I’ve just made things worse.”

He pushed against Clicks to get around him but the man stood his ground. Being under the influence it was hard for Zen to exert his full strength to fight, “Don’t leave me, Jagi. I need you!”

“I don’t think you know what you need anymore, Zen.” She made her way to the door, looking back at him with remorse in her eyes, “You need to find your way on your own and not depend on me anymore. Take care of yourself, sweetie.”

Zen let up and dejectedly leaned against the counter as he watched her walk out. Clicks reached to place his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Zen, I’m sorry.”  The bartender shook the hand off, “I just want to be left alone.” He grabbed a bottle of vodka and headed for his office.

“Zen, talk to me!” Clicks called out as he went to follow him.

“No. Leave me alone.” He slammed the door to the room, the sound of the lock clicking loudly.

Red came up and sighed, “We did the right thing, bud. He may be hurt now but it wouldn’t have been fair to her if he continued to do it behind her back. We need to fix this, though, before it gets any worse.”

Clicks pulled out his phone and hesitantly scrolled through his contacts, “I know, Red. I’ll call Sugar, he’ll know what to do.”


	12. Eros Ch.12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than ingame or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!
> 
> PG13+ for Swearin’ and Boozin’.

_I’m coming up only to hold you under_  
I’m coming up only to show you wrong  
And to know you is hard; we wonder  
To know you; all wrong we were. 

_[THE FUNERAL - BAND OF HORSES](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUPW8y6woTBI&t=MzAwNGFkZDBlNTM4M2YwZWY4OTRmNDMyYTQxZGRmMGI1NTdhNDQ1NCxrajRHMERudA%3D%3D&b=t%3AY7P1rqnUGwQTAboTCD8hcg&p=https%3A%2F%2Ffeelsgood-anon.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F163965819013%2Feros-bar-au-chapter-12&m=0) _

 

****  
  
  
  


A week had passed since Scarlet had walked out of the doors of Eros. The air was thick with tension any time that Zen actually made it into the bar. Eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and reeking of booze, he was impossible to talk to as every word was met with either a fight or complete silence.

Even Sunny, whom never missed a moment to throw her two cents around, kept a low profile whenever he staggered around the establishment. Thankfully if he did end up coming he normally locked himself in the office until everyone left for the night.

Saturday came along and Red was running around behind the bar working himself ragged to keep up on his own. Zen had been there - yes. But he wasn’t any help as he could barely keep himself up in his drunken state.

“Cannon, I got table four and table ten up!” He called out as he saw his brother walk by. Cannon put all the drinks on one tray and watched as his twin scurried around, “Hey, you sure you’re going to make it? It’s only nine. You’ve got five more hours of this.”

“I’ve got no choice, can’t let the service suffer.” He placed a few drinks on a tray and called Sunny over. “Don’t worry Cannon, I’ve got this.”

Sunny grabbed a bowl of pretzels and looked at Red with concern, “You’re doing a great, Red! This place would fall apart without you!”

Red chuckled and took a moment to grab his glasses from his face to wipe along the edges of his apron, “Nah. I’m just doing my job. If I have to pick up the slack for a few days then I’ll gladly do it.”

She smiled and blew him a kiss before walking off, “I still say you’re doing wonderfully!”

Duckie, who had made his way into the bar earlier in the day, gave him a thumbs up, “I admire you, Red. You work so hard and don’t let things get to you!”

“I’ve had enough in my life try to get me down to let things get to me. All I know is that I’ll appreciate my bed a lot more tonight.”

Clicks and Joe emerged from the back as they had played a few rounds of pool. He shook his head as he sat as his seat, “Damn, Joe. One day I’ll beat you. How’d you get so good?”

“I had a lot of practice in college. It’s simple geometry, really! Red, a beer for me and Clicks when you get the chance? On me, of course. Let me treat the loser.”

“How gracious of you, my lady. I’ll certainly take the drink!”

Red laughed a bit as he passed the drinks to them, “I have never seen anyone beat Joe at pool before, why do you keep trying?”

“One person has beaten me, actually. And he only did it once.” Joe said in a bit of a spiteful tone. “I couldn’t believe it happened either.”

“What? Who beat you?” Duckie chimed in, turning to look towards her, “They must be really good!”

With a deadpan expression she answered, “Sugar.”

“What?!”

They all turned to question except Clicks who laughed, “Of course he would. He’s got some hidden talents and is pretty smart. If it’s simple geometry the man could probably win money doing it.”

“Imagine how furious Zen was, yeah? Because he beat him too.” Joe laughed a bit, remembering the night a few months back, “Sugar wouldn’t let him live it down for two weeks.”

Clicks turned to Red to address him, “Hey, how’s Zen been anyway? Is he even here?”

Red nodded towards the office, “Yup, been locked in there since we opened.”

As if he heard them talking about him, Zen came out of the office. Stumbling a bit he slowly made his way to the bar. They all fell silent when he clung to the edge of the counter, body swaying a bit, to pull himself forward to dig for a liquor bottle. Duckie perked as he noticed him, waving wildly, “Hey Zen!”

Zen stopped a moment, blinks of his eyes exaggerated as he straightened a bit to look at whoever spoke. He smiled a toothy grin and leaned his body in the boy’s direction, “Heeeeeey Duckie! How are yah this evenin’?” He slurred out, “You’re a cute kid, yah know. Goooood kid. Say, wanna have a drink with me?”

Duckie smiled back a bit nervously, “Well I guess! But you know, maybe you could help Red a bit. He’s super busy and I feel bad for him.”

“Busy?” He looked over at Red who was making a batch of drinks quickly, “Oh, yeah! The bar is open. I can help!” He grabbed a glass and with a wobble of his hand placed it on the counter. He haphazardly threw ice into it and opened the bottle of vodka that he had grabbed for himself, pouring alcohol that halfway made it into the cup and onto the counter. “Oops…”

He placed the bottle down and went to grab a towel. As he started wiping he knocked the glass back towards him causing it to fall and shatter all over the ground. “Dammit…”

Red turned at the sound, grabbing a trashcan and rushing to put it in front of Zen. He had seen the look in his boss’s face and knew that he would…

Yep, throw up.

“Hey Zen, you alright?”

Zen wretched a few times, emptying his stomach of pure liquid. He waved Red away as he staggered back, “I’m fine. I’ll be in my office.” He grabbed the vodka bottle once more and made his way back in zig-zag steps.

None of them save Clicks had ever seen him that bad and the uncomfortable silence fell steadily. Red moved the trash can out from behind and looked to Clicks, “Can i ask you for a favor?”

“Yeah, I’ll dump it.”

“Thanks man, I appreciate it.”

Clicks headed for the bathroom and poured the contents of the trash into the toilet to flush, throwing the bag away as well. Pulling at his phone he sent a text to Sugar:

[He’s really bad. You need to come talk to him.]

[When I’m done here I’ll stop by, make sure he doesn’t leave.]

He let out a sigh and left to go to the office, knocking lightly, “Hey Zen?” As he got no reply he opened the door, eyes falling on Zen who had fallen asleep sitting at his desk. Closing the door behind him Clicks went and sat on the desk.

A few minutes went by as Clicks watched the other man asleep. This wasn’t new to him, seeing his friend in this state. Part of him wanted to let Zen sleep and get some peace of mind but another part wanted to just smack some sense into him. “You’re doing this to yourself again. Why, Zen? What can we do to help you?”

Zen let out a light snore as he woke up slightly, groggy eyes landing on Clicks, “Huh? Did you need somethin’?”

Clicks sighed a bit, “Not really, I’m just worried about you.”

“Nah, don’t worry about me! I’m good!” He lurched forward and pat Click’s thigh, “You’re cute, though. Always worrying about me. I forgive you for bringing her that night. I don’t need her anyway.”

“You’re right. You don’t need her but you want her. Learn to tell the difference.”

Zen reached his hand for the vodka bottle attempting to bring it to his lips but was stopped by Clicks, “Zen, please stop. I’m begging you.”

“Leave me alone.”

Clicks closed his eyes and nodded slowly, “Fine. I’ll be out there if you want to talk.” He walked out of the office and left Zen to his devices, plopping down at his seat to stare at his glass filled half-filled with beer, “He won’t even listen to me, Red. He wasn’t even like this the first time.”

Red wandered over to use the sink near Clicks, washing a few cups as the rush had mostly died down, “Where’s Sugar? He’s our last hope to talk any sense into him.”

“He’s been very busy trying to close a business deal but he told me he was coming as soon as he could.”

Duckie cleared his throat to get their attention, “Hey, maybe we should stage an intervention? We could stay until the bar closes and once everyone leaves we could all talk to him. If he sees that he has a group of people that care it could help!”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Duckie!” Sunny beamed as she overheard him on her trip back, “It’s important that he knows he does have a firm support system and we can convince him to stop!”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it on TV! Some therapist gets all of the addict’s family together and they write letters to them that are sad and heartfelt and the addict gets convinced to go to rehab! Except we don’t have a therapist.” The blonde pouted a bit, “Darn…”

“Those shows are always fake, dumbass.” Cannon piped in as he had set himself to help his brother wash glasses, “They stage this elaborate thing to make the viewers feel sad and emotional. It’s stupid.”

Sunny shrugged, “Those are a bit over the top but interventions are a thing. I volunteer to be the mediator!”

“No.” Everyone echoed. Cannon pinched her side, “You always make things worse with your big words and technical terms. He’s not that smart sober, you think he’s going to understand you while drunk?”

She turned to him sharply and wagged a finger at him, “Hey! At least I try to help him! You guys just sit around moping! Even if it’s not a real intervention I still think it’s a good idea if we stick around and try to talk to him!”

“I still think it’s a good idea~” Cannon mocked her, “Whatever. Not like I can leave without Red.”

She clapped her hands together and squealed, “Great! Now, everyone think of nice meaningful things to say to him and we will all gather once the last customer has left. We will get him to stop drinking, who’s with me!”

“I am!” Duckie shouted excitedly as the rest groaned at her enthusiasm.

“Sunny, darling, I understand you only mean to help him but let Sugar and I take care of this one, okay? This is a very sensitive area and we have dealt with it before,” Clicks attempted to sway her, “I do appreciate everyone’s concern, it warms my heart that he has such great friends.”

Her shoulders slumped as he spoke, “I know it’s serious, but I’m just as worried as anyone!”

“Then let them handle it and come help me clean a few tables. We get a breather before the midnight drunks are out at full force.” Cannon pulled her by the arm.

“Okay okay! I’m going!”

Red finished tidying up, the first time in the night where he had the chance, and leaned on the counter by Clicks, “I bet this isn’t what Sugar had in mind when he invited Scarlet to sing here, huh?”

“He knew this could be an outcome so I’m sure he had a back up plan. Although I don’t think he figured Zen would pull this stunt again.”

Red wiped his forehead with a towel before taking a drink of water, “Let’s hope he can seal the deal with Zen, then, or we are going to have a major issue on our hands.”

*********

The night went on with no sign of Sugar but the crew got through the night without any hiccups in the service.

Red finally sat down as the last of the patrons were sent off in taxi cabs, stretching his legs out, “Shit, that was rough.”

Cannon came by and smacked him on the back, “We’ll clean things up, you just relax. You earned it.”

“Thanks, bro.” He waved a few tired fingers as he let his body sink into the seat, “Man…Sugar hasn’t shown up yet.”

“He said he was showing up, I trust him.” Clicks sat next to him and handed him a glass of water and a sandwich, “I ran to the corner store and got you some food. I don’t think I saw you eat tonight.”

Red grabbed the sandwich and began to devour it, “Thank you so much! I was starving!”

Sunny walked up and leaned against Red, “Hey, you think we should call him out here to talk to him?”

Clicks pursed his lips, “I don’t know how he’d react if he were summoned to a group of people wanting to hound him about drinking.”

The office door swung open and Zen leaned against the door frame, drinking straight from a bottle. He quirked a brow as he saw everyone still there, “Aye, closing time. You all go home.”

Duckie stood up and cleared his throat, procuring a napkin that seemed to have scribbles on it, “Dear Zen. I want you to know that I care about you as a person. You’ve always been so nice to me and gave me the best advice about girls and life! I hate seeing the road you are taking and I hope that you consider getting help. We want our old Zen back! The cheery, healthy Zen! Please consider it for your own sake.”

Zen squinted at Duckie, taking another swig, “What are you going on about?”

Clicks winced and walked over to pat the blonde on the back, “That was nice, Duckie. Ah, Zen.” He motioned to the rest of the group in the bar, “They stayed because they want you to know that they are concerned with your behaviors and they are here to support you whatever way they can. They all care about you as much as I do.”

Zen snickered, “You can support me by closing out your tabs and going home. You aren’t sticking around to give me some heart to heart, are you?” He lifted off and took a few labored steps forward, “Off with you all. I have work to do.”

Sunny stood up straight and marched right up to him with arms crossed, “Stop acting like some tough guy! You are sick and you won’t accept it! We just want to see you happy and not drinking!”

He rolled his eyes and pushed her aside, “Like I said, I don’t need lectures. I’m an adult and I can handle myself just fine!”

Cannon came up and put himself between the two, “Touch her and I will handle you like an adult.”

Zen stopped and looked at Cannon, “Oh? Is that so? Well how about this, wise guy? You are all fired. Get the fuck out of my bar.”

Clicks held his breath and started to approach them, “Zen, calm down. Lets just talk about this.”

“I’M DONE TALKING!” He threw the liquor bottle to the side, glass shattering a few feet away from them, “Is it really that hard to get it through all of your heads that I want to be left alone?”

He grabbed the nearest chair and tossed it against the wall, now in a flurry of rage, “Everyone knows what’s best for Zen, eh? He can’t handle his problems correctly? Well fuck you all, I’ll handle it in whatever way I please!” His hands gripped the edge of a table and flipped it over, breaking the side as it made hard contact with the floor.

Cannon shielded Sunny and pushed her back to the others, “Dude, what the hell? You planning on trashing this place?”

“I will do whatever I damn well please!” He began tearing picture frames off the wall to chuck them around, “What are you going to do about it?”

Jingle~!

Sugar walked in and looked at the mess. He sighed and took off his suit jacket, placing it on the nearest chair, “Could everyone please leave?”

Clicks sighed a bit in relief as he saw the man, pulling at Cannon and Sunny, “Come on, you heard Sugar.”

Zen growled as he saw Sugar, “Oh, so you listen to him but not me? So much for being friends!”

Everyone trickled out until it was only the two. Sugar began to roll his sleeves up nonchalantly, “You’ve made quite the commotion while I was off on a business trip.”

“Don’t think I won’t fight you right here, Sugar. You need to leave this place too, I’m not in the mood.”

“And neither am I.” He loosened his tie a bit and walked behind the bar to serve himself a glass of wine, “sixteen hours on a plane and I come back to this. You could at least try to make my life a bit easier.”

Zen started to laugh, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Corporate Heir! I apologize for making your life so hard! God, how will you sleep tonight?”

“I’ll sleep comfortably, don’t you worry about that. The real question is, will you?”

The white-haired male clumsily walked over towards Sugar, grabbing his shirt collar, “That’s none of your fucking business. This is your fault, you know.”

“My fault?” Sugar looked towards Zen, not phased that his shirt was being pulled at, “I brought you Scarlet on a silver platter and you managed to, once again, screw things up.”

Zen gripped harder, “Oh, is that so? She’s not worth my time, that bi-”

Sugar quickly grabbed at Zen’s neck, squeezing slightly to stop him from speaking, “You speak one ill word about her and I will end this immediately.”

They pushed off each other and Sugar took a sip of his glass, “I once thought you two were perfect for each other but now I see that she deserves much better.”

Zen laughed again as he leaned against the counter, “Is that so? Then maybe you should date her. I bet you like it when she calls you Sugar. Or is it…she calls you Daddy in bed instead?”

Sugar’s jaw clenched as he became more angry, “Drop the stupid nicknames already. It was never cute, I actually hate the idea. How long will you continue to hide behind them?”

“You think it’s stupid, do you?” He stepped away from the bar to stand amongst the tables, “You know what, Sugar? People come to this bar to forget about their problems. They go through their day at jobs they hate and lives they are unsatisfied with! When they are here they can be whoever they want! For just a few hours they can break the monotony! Forget all the mistakes they made! Me, for example! Zen the actor!” He threw another chair to knock into a few tables, “Zen the ladies man!” He flung a table towards the bar to break into the barstools, “Zen the bartender!” He picked up a tray of dirty glasses and crashed them into the floor, “Zen the…Zen the…”

“Zen the alcoholic?” Sugar called out in a melancholic tone that the other had not heard in years. He finally turned to look towards Zen with the pain of betrayal in his eyes, “You promised me you wouldn’t let it destroy you again. You looked me straight in the eye with this determination to turn things around and told me it wouldn’t happen again. I can’t let this slide. I admit that I may have been hasty to believe you back then but I won’t make the same mistake.”

“Guess you come here to forget mistakes you made too, except you have to stare yours in the face.” Zen fell to his knees suddenly as he began to sob, “What’s happened to me? Where and when did I lose myself so badly? I broke your promise…I broke the promise I made to Scarlet. I let two of the people that believed in me down. Damn, and Clicks! I saw the disappointment in his eyes tonight.”

“Zen…”

“Jumin,” He choked out Sugar’s real name, “I need help.”

Sugar sighed to himself in relief at Zen’s admittance. Even though he had anticipated every outcome for this evening, including the potential of a physical altercation, the man was glad that this breakdown was the result. It didn’t make the painful tinge in his chest caused by his friend’s suffering any less but he could at least control the entire situation now. 

He set the glass of wine down and walked over to Zen, kneeling down to put a hand on his back, “Then let’s get you help, Hyun. You deserve happiness just like everyone else. But there was nothing I could do until you realized yourself how bad it is.”

Zen reached out to grab Sugar’s arm with desperation when, in response, by his name, “I don’t want this life anymore.”

“Of course you don’t, I don’t know anyone that would.” The raven-haired man pulled him up to sit him properly in a chair, “I have contacted an excellent treatment facility that is more than happy to receive you, and a sober living facility that is also willing to bring you in after. That is, if you are willing to accept. I cannot force you to do anything.”

Zen nodded as he continued to look at the floor, “I’ll do whatever it takes. I won’t make any promises but just know that I’ll do my best.”

“That’s better than an empty promise.” Sugar frowned and flicked him on the side of the head, “Stop staring at the floor, you look defeated.”

“That’s because I feel defeated.” Zen slowly turned his head up to look at Sugar with uncertainty and fear in his gaze.

“Feel proud, Zen. This is a good choice.”

“Do I have to go now?”

Sugar raised a brow, “Up to you, but the sooner the better.”

“And the bar?”

“I’ll keep an eye on it. It will be here for you when you get back.”

Nodding Zen stood up, still a bit wobbly from his drunken stupor. Sugar clicked his tongue and slid under the other’s arm to help him walk, “If I have to carry you out of this place again, I’m throwing you in the street and giving the bar to Red.”

Zen chuckled a bit, “That’s fair. Sugar…thank you.”

“Anytime, friend.”

**********

Two weeks passed and even after being closed for a few days to clean the place up Eros was back up and running at full force.

“Two dry martinis and a beer.” Cannon called out as he stopped by the bar top, staring at the bartender, “The martini glasses are above the register, cowboy.”

Clicks bowed his head in appreciation, “Thank you, Cannon! I have a newfound respect for what Zen and Red accomplish back here. There is so much to remember!”

“You get used to it, Clicks! But honestly, you aren’t too bad. Thanks for stepping in and helping out.” Red reached to grab the glasses for him, “I wouldn’t trust anyone else from the outside, especially with Zen being gone.”

“When’s the boss coming back, anyway?” Cannon yawned as he waited, “It’s been a while. Kinda miss the guy even though I want to punch him in the face every day.”

Clicks finished the order and placed them on Cannon’s tray, “He won’t be back any time soon, I’m afraid. He not only needs time to detox but to fully heal from his emotional issues.”

Jingle~!

“Sugar!”

“Good evening everyone.”

Sugar made his way to his usual spot and sat down, Red serving him his normal glass of wine, “Thank you, Red. I just came back from seeing Zen at the hospital. He seems in good physical health and will be transferring to the sober living house tomorrow.”

Red raised his glass of water in a toast, “Good to hear! How long is he going to be there?”

“They suggest three weeks to a month but he can check himself out at any point. Let’s just hope he stays long enough to get himself together. He’ll be seeing a therapist twice a week and doing group therapies at the home.”

Clicks quickly made his way over to his friend, most excited to hear any news, “Did he talk to you? How did he seem? Was he being responsive?”

“We spoke briefly. He asked how everything was going over here and if anyone missed him. I gave him everyone’s regards. As far as how he is handling things I’m not so sure. He didn’t speak much on anything in depth, he asked me to give him some time.”

“I do hope this will be good for him. He really needs it.”

Sugar nodded as he sipped at his drink, “It’s not going to be easy but I think things are going in the right direction. I believe in him, after all.”

Clicks smiled and leaned against the counter, “Yeah, me too.”

“I do too!” Sunny popped up behind Sugar, overhearing their conversation, “Hey, can we go visit him? We all made cards and stuff to encourage him and wish him well!”

“That may be a bit difficult, he doesn’t really want to see anyone else until he feels he is ready.” Sugar shrugged, “I think that’s a good choice on his part. But I can deliver anything the next time I see him.”

She frowned but accepted the offer, “I understand and if you could give him the stuff that would be great! Even if he doesn’t want to see us he should still know that we are rooting for him!”

Sugar snapped his fingers, “Ah, that reminds me. He wrote a note to you all.” Reaching into his coat pocket he pulled out a piece of paper to read out loud:   _“Dear Eros, I hope you guys are doing well. I want to apologize for all the inconveniences that I have caused you and the shame that I have brought to you as a manager. I understand if you look down on me for all the things that I’ve done because I deserve it all. I only wish that I can come back as a better manager, a better man, and a better friend. If you don’t wait for me I won’t be offended, I’m sure Sugar will take care of you if you wish to leave. Good luck to you all and if you do decide to stay please look after the place for me. I’ll be thinking of you all while I continue to my journey to recovery. Best wishes, Zen.”_

Sunny pursed her lips to hold back tears, “Oh Zen…”

Cannon grabbed the letter and tore it up, “You tell that fucker to quit his shit and get back soon. We don’t need apologies, we just need our manager back.”

Sugar raised a brow and nodded, “I’ll relay the message.”

Red smirked at his twin, “So you kinda miss him or you miss him a lot?”

“Hey! I just want to have a normal work environment back! No offense, Clicks…it’s just that Zen is good at what he does.”

Clicks laughed softly, “No offense taken. We all miss him.”

Red raised his glass again, “I would say we should take a shot in his honor but I want to believe those days are long gone. So whatever you choose to drink, bring it up to a toast!”

They all raised whatever drink they had, Red nodding firmly, “Right! To Zen and getting his ass back to work!”

“Cheers!”

The glasses clinked and everyone took a drink.

As soon as the others scattered Clicks looked over to Sugar, “Hmm.”

“Hmm indeed. I think he’ll be in the best company he could be in when he gets back.”

“Agreed.”

_To be continued…_


	13. Eros Season 1 Epilogue

The breeze blowing through the courtyard softly ran through the lengths of Zen’s hair as he sat in solitude on a wooden bench. The days he had spent at the sober living facility proved to be peaceful for the man as he had more than enough time to ponder on the things that plagued his mind.

Twenty days since his last drink still proved daunting on his energy levels but now that he felt good enough to crawl out of bed he began his old workout routine. Normally he would have earbuds blasting music but he found an endearing quality to the sounds of nature as he jogged around the grounds. 

He was used to being approached by employees throughout the day and now just let them approach without question but the unfamiliar sound of heels clicking along the sidewalk made him a bit curious. Before he could turn to look, the familiar female voice caused his heart to ache and his body to freeze in place.

“Hey you.”

He took a drink of water and continued to gaze steadily forward in attempts to keep calm, “Jumin couldn’t help but tell you, huh?”

“I asked him to keep me informed, don’t hate him too much.” She stepped around and sat next to him, pulling her lengthy red hair to one side to look him over carefully, “You look good, Hyun. I’m glad.”

His fingers tapped along the plastic within his grasp before he finally looked in her direction. It never failed for his stomach to erupt in butterflies when he saw her face. Completely sober he truly noticed how beautiful Scarlet was to him. Was this how he really remembered seeing her that first night? Did she always shine brighter than the sun to him?

“Thank you, and so do you.”

She smiled and sat back to look over the distant field, “This place looks nice, I hope they are treating you well here.”

“I’ve never been treated better.”

Scarlet nodded, trying to formulate the words to express what she wanted to say to him. “Hyun, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you when I got scared. I just didn’t know it was that bad and it overwhelmed me.”

Zen looked down to his shoes as he shuffled them across the pavement, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She let out a sigh and laid her chin on his shoulder, “I wasn’t afraid of you, I was afraid for you. I honestly thought that me being there would fix things but I didn’t realize it was a much bigger issue. Here I thought I could come save the man I love and all I did was hurt you even more than before.”

He leaned his head against hers to feel the comfort he didn’t know he longed for, “It hurt, but I think I needed it. We both made mistakes but in the big picture I did far worse to you than to anyone else. I’m sorry, Seonae. I’m not mad at you for what you did but if you are mad at me I can understand. I’ll never forgive myself for treating you the way I did.”

She put her arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the temple, “Hyun, forgive yourself, for everything. This is your new start and I don’t want you to dive into it with regrets. I’m not mad and have long since forgiven you so let it go.”

Zen took a deep breath and nodded, “Honestly? I really appreciate you saying that. It’s been weighing on my mind that you and everyone else would just be mad at me. It’s going to be hard but I want to be able to control myself much better than before. You were right when you said that I needed to figure out things on my own. Even though I still want you by my side and probably always will, I have to learn how to be alone. I mean, what would I do if something stressful happened and you were out of the country again? I need to be able deal with it.”

“It makes me feel better that you have that kind of mindset now,” She dropped her arm from his shoulder to lightly rub along his back, “Just remember that there are people that care about you and want to support you, me being one of them.” 

He chuckled a bit at her words. “Is that so? Even after I lied to you and said those terrible things to you?” 

She sighed and nodded firmly, “Like I said, I’ve forgiven you. This may be the best for you but I have things to work on as well. Next time I won’t run away when you need me the most. I’ll be here for you.”

He took her hand and held it up to his lips to kiss, “You’re really a remarkable woman, you know that?”

“I’m not too shabby, hmm?” She nudged him playfully and pulled out a small package from her purse, “Notes from everyone at Eros. Read them at your leisure.”

He looked at it momentarily and put it on his lap, a small smile tugging at the sides his lips, “Those jerks, being sentimental.”

She stood up and quick hand to dust off her skirt she looked down at him, “I’ll be off in a week for a new tour, I’ll be back in around three months or so.”

Zen nodded, “Good luck and be careful out there.” He held his hand out to her, “I still love you, you know.”

Scarlet placed her palm in his and squeezed tightly, “And I still love you too, so very much. Take care of yourself, okay?”

He nodded and with reluctance let go, “Goodbye, Seonae.”

“Goodbye, Hyun.”

He watched her walk until her form fell out of sight. He sat back and moved the small package to clutch at his chest, “I promise to you all that I’ll take care of myself. No…” Zen stood up and took in a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose, “I promise to myself that I’ll be better. I hope you guys don’t mind.”


End file.
